Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal North East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister's positive assessment of the potential of community restorative justice. A short briefing note from Community Restorative Justice Ireland on the issue states that restorative practices are underpinned, informed and shaped by a value-base of eight key components. These are participation, interconnectedness, honesty, humility, respect, accountability, hope and empowerment. In terms of the ethos, CRJ Ireland is engaging in schools and trying to develop that sense of collective responsibility from the school up.

It has often been said that if we can invest in prevention rather than cure, we would save a great deal of money for the taxpayer over the medium to long term. As my party's spokesperson for justice, I look forward to working with the Minister to develop these projects in the future. I have had the privilege of visiting some of the projects. One hears stories about the difference that it makes to estates that were really under fierce pressure with one or two families but, with a common sense approach and a collective response, the difference it made was tremendous. Of course, it saves the taxpayer a fortune in having to put people in jail down the line.

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