Ms Shalom Binchy:

On behalf of the Law Society of Ireland, I thank the joint committee for inviting my colleague, Mr. Shane McCarthy, and me to attend today. Mr. McCarthy and I are members of the criminal law committee of the Law Society and Mr. McCarthy is a nominated member of its council.

The criminal justice (community sanctions) Bill constitutes a radical overhaul of the manner in which the sentencing of offenders is dealt with before the courts, with particular reference to minor matters or matters where judges believe alternatives to convictions should be considered. The most significant changes proposed under the new scheme are that the Probation of Offenders Act 1907 will be repealed and the court poor box will be replaced with a reparation fund. The legislation will, to some extent, implement some recommendations of the Law Reform Commission's report of 2005.

Mr. McCarthy will speak about restorative justice, with a focus on the community sanctions Bill, the need for adequate resourcing, the potential restriction of the range of options open to judges and future Garda vetting of community sanctions.