Ms Deborah Watters:

Mr. Maguire has answered the questions well, but I will make a few additional comments. Deputy Crowe has summarised the issue for us, in that we do not want to be on this conveyor belt. It is not working for us, but we do not know how to get off of it. We need to analyse the issue further. I agree, in that many of those who are victims or have been on the receiving end of criminal activity initially want people to be locked away. However, they also want their own needs to be taken care of, for example, restitution, their voices to be heard, the knowledge that it will not happen again and to feel safe in their houses at night. Merely locking criminals up will not offer a response to this range of needs.

With the help of people like us, legislators need to consider how to get off this conveyor belt. As Mr. Maguire mentioned, the US has the highest incarceration rate in the world and is the world's most violent nation. Punishment is not equal to change. Locking people up does not address the root causes to which we referred, namely, social disadvantage, poverty, education, etc. We need to get beneath the surface and begin to address these issues. We can do this by involving everyone in the solution. It would have been disingenuous if restorative justice in Northern Ireland had left prisoners, ex-prisoners and former combatants out of the equation. For a real solution, everyone must have a voice. This may include people who we do not like or agree with, but that is fine. An essential ingredient in our success is having people like Mr. Maguire at the centre of what we do. We need that voice. We need to have people who have been on that transformative journey to design the programmes.

Mr. Murphy asked about the Garda. It is doing some restorative work. We have worked with it. The issue is that this work has been piecemeal. It is not co-ordinated or strategic enough. As members may know, there is a community-based restorative justice programme in Tallaght that is doing good work. We have worked in Ballymun and with the St. Andrew's Resource Centre in the city centre. However, co-ordination and a strategy are necessary. The work needs to be underpinned by legislation and Government resources. Some good piecemeal work is being done across the island, but it needs to have more of a strategic focus.

Senator D'Arcy asked about the criminal justice system and a protocol for sharing information. The North has a protocol whereby, if we become aware of criminal activity, we are legally obliged to pass that information on to the police. As Mr. Maguire mentioned, that can sometimes be a constraint to building relationships with communities. We need to reach the point of restorative justice programmes having some discretion as regards low-level anti-social behaviour and criminal activity.

Members may not agree with my analysis of the situation, but we only need to lock up the most serious offenders. I do not know how matters stand in the South, but 50% of the North's prison population is composed of fine defaulters.

This is costing us £80,000 per year, which is not the way forward. We need to revamp our system and the criminal justice system.

Reference was made to partnerships. Our agencies probably have the most partners involved with them. People are stating that we are making a difference and that they want to be part of what we are doing. However, it is difficult to encourage partner agencies to bring resources to the table. They may wish to come on board but we may, perhaps, not always see the colour of their money. We need to move beyond the point where people are just partners to the stage where they are equal partners who bring resources with them.

That is all I wish to say. Mr. Maguire has covered the issues very well. The committee has given us a great deal of its time and we greatly appreciate the opportunity to engage in this discussion with it.