Denis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I support this important motion and thank Senator Conway for making the effort and going to the trouble of putting the motion before the Seanad. I compliment him on the diligent and effective work he does as a member of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality. As a member of that committee, I am acutely aware of the tremendous interest and effort he has put into it.

It was the Fianna Fáil Party which introduced the pilot projects on restorative justice and initiated the National Commission on Restorative Justice in 2007 to set out the potential for restorative justice in Ireland. It is imperative that victims are placed at the heart of the justice system and that offenders face the full rigour of the law, with a view to curbing recidivism and making amends for the wrongdoing that has been done. We have inherited the British common law system of penal justice, which is outdated and in need of reform. We recognise that the principal stakeholders in the restorative justice system are the victims, the offenders, the community and the State and it is important we consider all these aspects of our system. I am convinced of the Hegelian notion propagated by Trotsky or someone like him that we have a thesis, antithesis and synthesis, but unfortunately our society has never gone the full hog to a state where we have no crime. I wish that was the case.

The report of the National Commission on Restorative Justice describes restorative justice as an "invaluable cost effective option" for the criminal justice system. The report states that the cost of running such a programme or pilot project is approximately ¤3,250 per adult, compared to the ¤97,700 required annually for a prisoner in detention. The report also suggests and estimates that annual savings of up to ¤8.3 million can be made by replacing prison placement with the use of restorative justice and suggests expansion nationwide of the two trial projects currently in place in Tallaght in Dublin and Nenagh in County Tipperary. It should also be noted that court referred conferences are mandated under the Children Act 2001, to explore ways in which young persons can take responsibility for their behaviour and its consequences and, where possible, make amends to victims. It is important we tackle crime by young offenders as closely as possible in this manner because once people become habitual criminals, it is more difficult to get through to them, particularly if they have passed the age of 18 or 21.

I made the point here previously that the relationship between our system and society is somewhat like that between Pontius Pilate and Our Lord and their society. The demand of society is to "crucify" the criminal. As a solicitor and politician, I have often come across the attitude that we should just lock up these young criminals and throw away the key. While that might be a short-term solution, it is not right. We should always seek a better solution. I have visited Cork, Mountjoy and Portlaoise prisons and in those prisons I have come across many prisoners who have mental illness problems. These could be the result of the abuse of drink or drugs and some people may have been abused growing up. Professional counsellors and psychotherapists should be available to prisoners.

When I visited Cork Prison many years ago, I found that while there were approximately 350 prisoners, they only had one psychotherapist available to them and he visited only one day a week. I met the man involved and he told me he could do with visiting every day and could do with two or three assistants, because of the number of prisoners there who needed help. If a person is given a six or 12-month sentence and is then released without having received any assistance of this nature, the easiest thing for that person to do is to fall back into the same trap, thereby creating the revolving justice system mentioned by Senator Burke and others. Whether we like it or not, that is what we have.

Fianna Fáil believes that the justice process should be as inclusive as possible and that the outcome should be lead and shaped by local people. Local solutions for local issues should be the shared goal for both the community and the criminal justice system. We understand that the system needs to deal with serious crime, but in the case of low-level crime, it is vital we involve the community in so far as we can. We need to be responsive to the needs of victims and we need to use the criminal justice resources effectively to provide protection, redress and rehabilitation. Ultimately, whatever route we travel, we must ensure that those who offend face the full rigours of the law and that victims remain at the forefront of the justice system.

The experience elsewhere and from the two pilot projects indicates that restorative justice serves as a real alternative to locking up offenders, reduces re-offending and gives victims a sense that they are at the centre of the justice system. I wait anxiously to hear the Minister of State's response and I thank Senator Conway for raising this issue. I am not always so decent to the Government side, but I thank all of them for exploring this important initiative across the political boundary because it is above and beyond politics.