Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome what Deputy Mac Lochlainn said. From past exchanges on this issue, I am aware there is support from all sides of the House that we further develop and expand the restorative justice process.

It is interesting to note the differences between the traditional approach and restorative justice. Of coarse, restorative justice is not appropriate in every circumstance but there are offenders for whom it is appropriate and there are victims of crime who are willing to engage. When that occurs there are significant benefits, particularly when one is dealing with young people and one is trying to ensure that they move away from the possibility of further criminality.

In the context of making the comparison, it is interesting that restorative justice essentially requires offenders to speak for themselves from start to finish whereas if one brings them into a court system, apart from saying "guilty" or "got guilty", the offender may say nothing at all in court, and certainly is not emotionally engaged necessarily in an exchange where he perceives the person against whom the offence was committed as truly a victim of that offence. No doubt offenders find the restorative justice process emotionally demanding and tough and it gives them an opportunity to see the victim as a person and to say "Sorry" to him. There is really no chance of doing that in a court process. It happens only occasionally. The offenders do not see what they have done as an offence against a victim. The criminal justice system is designed to present it as an offence against the State as opposed to an offence against the victim. There is a considerable benefit in those who engaged in crime, in particular, where it is minor crime, understanding the impact of their conduct on the victim, coming face-to-face with the victim, and having a dialogue with someone who, in most cases, they never knew and in circumstances where they do not understand the impact or consequences of their actions.

Deputy Mac Lochlainn can take it that I am an enthusiast for extending the use of restorative justice just as I believe in the importance of our extension of the community service orders mechanism. The latter mechanism is working and more people are engaged in that area. These are two mechanisms, which facilitate dealing with criminality without people spending time in prison and which give them a greater insight as to contributions they may make to their own communities.

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