Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 5 July 2017
142. Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality his views on restorative justice and the implementation of community courts; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31710/17]
View answerThe Probation Service Restorative Justice Strategy, published in November 2013, entitled Repairing the Harm: A Victim Sensitive Response to Offending, provides a framework for informed, effective and integrated Restorative Justice practice. The strategy builds on the work of the Probation Service in this area to-date and focuses on the further development of evidence informed interventions which engage victims, offenders and the community in addressing the consequences of crime. Extending the use of restorative justice programmes is also one of the recommendations of Report of the Penal Policy Review Group, which was submitted to Government in November 2014 by the then Minister for Justice and Equality and an Implementation Group is currently overseeing the implementation of these recommendations.
My Department led a Working Group of Justice Sector officials to consider options for moving forward on the proposal to establish a Community Court. Building on the recommendations of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality, the Working Group considered proposals to enhance the approach to tackling low level offenders and effectively addressing their offending behaviour through a Community Justice Intervention type programme. This would be a diversion from the courts system in a way that has the potential to respond more effectively to one-off and repeat, low level offending with the emphasis on speedy processing aimed at reducing the risk of re-offending and would also offer quick referral to the necessary services. My Department wishes to build on this work and is considering a number of possibilities including the creation of a statutory conditional cautioning system which is being considered in the context of a comprehensive inter-agency examination.
