Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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Question 70: To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality his plans to expand the number of community restorative projects in the State and to incorporate these into the justice system as is the situation in the Six Counties. [24745/11]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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1The system of restorative justice in this jurisdiction is already part and parcel of the justice system. In the case of juveniles, restorative justice was introduced on a statutory basis for the first time in the Children Act 2001. There are two restorative justice initiatives provided for in the Act: A restorative conference or restorative caution included in the Garda Diversion Programme and a court-ordered restorative justice family conference delivered through the Probation Service.

The Programme for Government gives a commitment to tackle youth crime on a number of different fronts including giving a special emphasis to alternative programmes for young offenders through extensions to the Juvenile Liaison Officer Scheme and the Diversion Programme and the extended use of Restorative Justice. I wish to inform the Deputy that I will continue to maintain responsibility for the diversion and community aspects of the work of the Irish Youth Justice Service (IYJS), while my colleague the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs will take responsibility for the rest of IYJS, including the Children Detention Schools in Oberstown. I will be consulting closely with my Ministerial colleague and with the Garda Commissioner in the continuing development of programmes to tackle youth crime.

As regards adult offenders, the Probation Service has introduced a pilot scheme to test a range of restorative interventions based on the recommendations contained in the report of the National Commission on Restorative Justice. This will enable my Department to evaluate what role such interventions as recommended in the report might play having regard to overall effectiveness, potential and value for money considerations. The scheme involves an expansion of the two existing adult projects which operate in Tallaght and Nenagh. The Probation Service will monitor the implementation of the scheme and provide a report on its effectiveness after a 12 month operational period. I look forward to reviewing their report in due course.