Denis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Costello. Sometimes I think his rightful place is in the Upper House. He is a bit lost where he is but I wish him well.

My party supports the concept of community courts. International experience, particularly in the US and the UK, has been drawn on and it is not unusual for us to look at situations abroad. In particular, we looked at juvenile liaison officers and trying to ensure young people do not end up in court. We looked at the Australian model in New South Wales and in New Zealand, and we acted, reacted and introduced legislation, which is helpful. It should be tried out on a pilot basis to test how it will work in our area. Some of what I read refers to neighbourhoods, which is an American, New York, Boston or Chicago phrase, and in Ireland I see it operating on a parish basis or in boroughs in the cities. In order to be dealt with in the community courts, a defendant must indicate a guilty plea. Defendants who comply with orders in the community courts avoid a criminal conviction. There is major scope for this kind of system.

Last Sunday night, I was visiting someone and I saw a documentary on an open prison system in Norway. I was gobsmacked to note that only 30% of those who had gone through the open prison system were re-offenders. If that is the case, we should consider that set-up.

Community courts mandate punishment or help for defendants or, in a minority of cases, a combination of both. The punishment imposed must include community work. It is a wonderful system for people involved in minor drug offences, public order offences where there is no serious injury, petty theft and vandalism where someone does minor damage to property. Community courts are guided by four basic principles, namely, restoring communities, bridging the gap between communities and courts, building partnerships and solving problems. If it does not solve the problem, it is of no use.

The National Crime Council has already been alluded to and it has studied the issue and produced a detailed report in 2007 recommending the establishment of community courts in Ireland. In supporting the motion, I concur with Senator Conway that a pilot scheme should be introduced by the Minister sooner rather than later. We should try it out for six months or 12 months. Within the right framework and in the right areas, this can only be successful.

It is wrong that people are thrown into prison for relatively minor crimes. I know someone from a remote part of County Kerry. His tractor or digger broke down and he had to drive to Navan, a four and a half hour drive, to get a part. He is a retired farmer and he does not travel up the country very often. When he got there he found a parking space but the parking meter was out of order. He got his part and he came back and it was still out of order. He was prepared to put in money and walked around and saw no one on duty on this Saturday morning. Lo and behold, he was issued with a €60 ticket. He refused to pay it and the matter ended up in court. He was not represented in court and he was fined €600. After 15 months, he was brought from a remote part of Ireland, accompanied by a garda. The Department hired a taxi to bring this guy some 400 km to Mountjoy Prison to serve a seven-day sentence. He was innocent because in his view he had committed no crime. Later that evening, he was let out and had to get the train back to Kerry. It cost the State €1,000 and because he spent three hours in Mountjoy Prison he purged his contempt of court and the fine will never be paid. It is the stupidity of the system. If the man was asked to do something small in his local community, in his village or in his GAA club, he would be glad to do it and it would have saved this shenanigans. His wife was very upset and rang me and asked me whether this was the right way to go and whether this constituted justice in Ireland. I could understand her position but the system had gone so far that I could not row it back, nor could the Minister in that case.

It is particularly important for there to be an ongoing and rigorous follow-up on the court's orders to ensure defendants adhere to remedial orders and are not taking advantage of them.

Research is also an important component in ensuring that courts adhere to best practice and test the effectiveness of sentencing and the overall role. This should be conducted by the Law Reform Commission or a section of the community court. A regular format to consult with the community and gauge the impact of the new court model is vital in securing public approval and support, as if the public does not buy into the process, the proposal will collapse, which would be a pity. The community should also have the opportunity to benefit from any community work completed by those who have appeared before the community court.

Where it is possible, the community court should aim to ensure that any community work imposed would be linked to the committed offence and completed in the area. This would provide restitution for the offence to the community and makes those who have appeared before the community court accountable for their offending behaviour in their own community. There is no point in bringing a fellow from west Cork to do community service in some part of Dublin; that would not make sense and would defeat the purpose of this idea. Experience from other jurisdictions suggests that community courts work has the most positive benefit for the defendant when he or she works along with voluntary community groups or other non-offenders. In Ireland this would equate to groups like the tidy towns or sporting bodies which may need an extra hand locally.

Without any reservation I support this motion, which is a wonderful idea. I wish it well and I hope a pilot scheme can be introduced. In five or ten years people can look back and see that a small step was taken to prevent even 5% of young offenders who are not serious criminals from going into the court system. That can be a revolving door process, with people coming out tarnished with a criminal record, so we should use the prisons as a last resort to incarcerate people.