Ms Deirdre Duffy:

We asked victims of crime what they want to see in the system. They want the right to information, the right to privacy, the right to participate in the process and protection from harm. There are many rights that they seek within the process. We do not believe those rights need to exist independently of fair trial rights; they can co-exist. In fact, there is not really a balance because every single participant within the criminal justice system should have respect for their particular rights. As Ms Deirdre Malone from the Irish Penal Rights Trust has mentioned, we would not advocate that there is no such thing as pre-trial detention in Ireland. Of course, people need to be held on remand. One of the main reasons they need to be held on remand is to protect witnesses and victims from further harm. As already pointed out, the way in which that is handled has to be set out in a framework that is in accordance with human rights principles. Again, I refer to articles 5 and 6 of the ECHR which set out the proportions and the public interest arguments that should surround a bail system. That is what we would advocate. Victims of crime speak about Garda resourcing, intelligence, feeling safe in their communities, and the right result coming out of a court case, not locking people up when they have not been proven to be guilty of any crime.