Mr. Niall Counihan:

We come across a lot of drug gang intimidation and it is a very hard nut to crack. In some cases the community garda can help but in others an inspector is required. The safety of the person making the complaint is the key. We operate strictly on the basis of restorative initiatives. In the case of offenders engaged in intimidation, unless a lot of corrective work has been done with them, we would not consider them to be candidates for a restorative justice programme with such victims as described by the Deputy. They could either be on the fringes of gangs or have gone down the road of purchasing certain illicit products and not been able to pay for them. Serious intimidation could be involved. I would not envisage a restorative process working in such a situation in the initial stages until such time as work has been done with the offender.