Ms Patricia Rickard-Clarke:

If I could just add to that in terms of the Garda, again the force wants very specific evidence to be able to prosecute, whereas in fact we should be sharing information at an earlier stage. I am involved with Sage Advocacy and we see a number of times where a person whose capacity is at issue, maybe their money has been stolen, their bills not paid or whatever, and the Garda says they lack capacity and do not even try to interview, even though the advocate may have very clear evidence of financial abuse. Again, we need the Garda to be very aware that it has an obligation to follow that even though it may not lead to a prosecution. If abuse at whatever level is taking place, it should be followed through on.