Martin Conway (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome my good friend, the Minister of State, Deputy Dinny McGinley. The debate has been inspiring and interesting. I inform Senator Denis O'Donovan that it was remiss of me in my earlier remarks not to commend the previous Government for taking the brave initiative to establish the restorative justice commission, the establishment of which led to the pilot projects. It was also remiss of me not to mention the work of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality. The next stage for the committee is to recommend the legislation required to make restorative justice part of the mainstream.

Everyone has said the prison system is not working. Let us think of the image of a rotten apple in a barrel of apples, but what if the barrel is also rotten? That the prison system does not work is not fault of the many good personnel who work within it. The reality is that too many are in prison who should not be there. The only interest in victims is shown through the victim impact statement, a measure which many believe does not work either. The victim needs to play a far more central role in the process. Restorative justice is a very nice way to ensure a victim's voice is heard in a true and meaningful manner. It makes a difference to society, serves the public interest and improves society. It can help young people who have fallen or are about to into a life of crime to identify a better and more successful path in life.

The contributions made across the House prove that restorative justice is a political issue. Thankfully, it is not a party political issue or football. I have great hope that we will see in future years a very well defined mainstream national restorative justice programme that will achieve great results. I have been given hope by the fact that the initiative has received unanimous support. Effectively, a restorative justice programme is in train; it will not stop and will transcend future Administrations and generations.

The debate has been informative and the speech by the Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, was very inspiring and encouraging. A clear commitment was given that it would be a national initiative, including pilot projects. That development is very encouraging, but I would like to hear a proposed timeframe. I am surprised that the IMF has not made a restorative justice programme a priority, given that such a programme has been proved to save costs. I am sure the troika will be happy with the Minister of State's speech in which she gave a commitment to make it part of the mainstream.

We have had a good debate. It may be just a drop in an overall context, but drops in the ocean, if penetrated properly, can produce a significant ripple effect. The Oireachtas Joint Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality will hold hearings later in the term and I hope we will return to the topic during Primate Members' time to report progress. I would love to see suitable legislation being brought before the Houses of the Oireachtas in the not too distant future, I hope during the term of office of the Government. I want the right legislation. I want proper research to be carried out, even if it means launching a national pilot project initially, to allow us to take baby steps that will lead to a more defined programme. I would like a national programme to be initiated in the very near future which would lead to proper structures being put in place through legislation. Unfortunately, the victims of crime have not been legislated for, while offenders have not been given the opportunities they deserve.

I have been convinced about the benefits of a restorative justice programme by the examples given by practitioners, the people working on the ground, when they spoke at lectures and seminars I have attended in recent months. They passionately believe restorative justice is the right way to proceed and can attest to the success stories. They have witnessed the futures of some people being enhanced, while opportunities have been given to others who perhaps would not have had opportunities in life but for this process. All of the evidence has convinced me that there is no alternative.

I thank all of the Senators who contributed for their informative and enlightened contributions. Let us hope we will see a bright future for the victims of crime and offenders.