Dr. Fergal Lynch:

The key element will be a service level agreement. There will have to be a substantial, significant well worked out service level agreement between the Minister, the Department and the national service provider. This would provide for a range of issues, including the basis on which the service is provided, payments, the requirement for the service provider to provide all necessary information relating to the quality of the service, the type of service and the volume of the service. Training will be absolutely vital to the process.

There will also be a quality element built into it in terms of enabling us and requiring the service level provider itself to review its own work and to ensure that both the quality and the cost-effectiveness of it is appropriate. We will also consult with the courts. We have been talking to the Department of Justice and Equality and we have been speaking informally to the Courts Service. When one has a proper framework of legislation, the type of concerns that the Deputy has rightly described can be addressed.