Ms Claire Casey:

It is linked to it in the training. We explain to people about restorative justice.

The training is about conflict and it is not about tackling crime which is a matter for the Garda Síochána because that is its job. This aspect is covered in the training. The training improves people's confidence about naming problems. The programme was independently evaluated by NUIG over its first two years and it has been running for four years. At that point 700 people had participated in the training programme and 35% of people surveyed reported themselves more confident and willing to report crime. This was an unexpected outcome. Tallaght is also a pilot project for restorative justice training for members of the Garda Síochána. Waterford and Tallaght were the two pilot projects and the reports on those projects will be published next year in 2015. It will be very interesting to see how they have fared. The aim was to forge better relationships between residents and gardaí.