Ms Molly Joyce:

I am happy to briefly address that issue. The Irish Penal Reform Trust is keenly aware of it. Obviously, there is the impact on victims. It is right that everyone referred to that issue and we are very conscious of it. It is interesting to note some research we are aware of by Professor Joanna Shapland in the UK. It has looked at what people within the criminal justice systems, people in prison and victims and their families want. Sometimes people want the same thing. They want to be heard, they want fairness and they want to feel justice has been done. They sometimes align much more than our current system acts like they do. Restorative justice is a key way in which we can actualise that. We welcome that is being referenced in the Department's planning, having been referenced in the justice plan published yesterday. At the moment, our perception of what is happening with restorative justice is that it is quite haphazard. It kind of exists within the system but most people do not know about it. Many victims do not know it exists as an option and if they did know, they might be interested in it as it can offer them many benefits. As the Deputy said, restorative justice can also offer many benefits to the person in prison. It can offer them an opportunity to address their offending and move past it in a way that is much more useful, I suppose, than just being punished and feeling like they have been thrown away in prison. Obviously there are others here, including Mr. Graham, who might have particular insights on that.