Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

All of us are contacted frequently by people who have been victims of crime. They may have had their lives brutalised or experienced significant trauma. Often, when we engage in this format and discuss these issues, we get a kickback. Many people feel their lives have been destroyed. In other jurisdictions, and to some extent in this jurisdiction as well, the use of restorative justice as a process has helped victims in this regard. What positive impacts can that process have, including for the prisoner or the person who has been convicted?

Is there a role for more constructive use of the restorative justice methods, especially for people on short sentences? We have learned today it is very difficult for them to make progress when they are in the system. It may be even more so with longer sentences. We need to look at that as a potential solution to some of these problems. I would be interested in the witnesses' thoughts on that.