Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

That is a whole-of-government response and it is a matter of making sure that communities are supported. Senator Ruane will see even in the most recent budget that so much focus was placed on making sure that those communities that are most impacted by the cost of living, the increase in energy costs and the increase in costs more generally are directly supported and that we see those increased supports for one-parent families and people on the minimum wage. Obviously, the Department of Justice is part of that, but we need to make sure we look at the root causes of crime and how the justice system can respond and how we respond to take people out of crime. The mental health task force, which was established by my Department, working with the Department of Health, focuses specifically on how we can support people because such a high proportion of people in our prisons have mental health problems or drug addiction problems. It is a question of how we stop that revolving door in order that when they come out they have the supports and the resources, while also acknowledging that where people commit crimes, they have to serve appropriate sentences.

I am doing a lot of work. We have established a victims' forum, looking at all kinds of victims and the area of domestic violence. For so many people who are victims of violence in the home from a young age, that has an impact on them and on how they live their lives, so dealing with the root causes of that can have a positive impact. It is about making sure the Garda is resourced. We have to make sure it is.

As regards the week before last, no personal circumstance forced anybody to set a bus alight, to attack a member of An Garda Síochána or to loot. We cannot excuse that. At the same time, however, I absolutely appreciate that we have to try to support and work with people at the earliest stage possible to prevent it from ever getting to that point. That is where I see my role. It is multifaceted and it is a matter of looking at all these different approaches.