Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent)
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26. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the status of legislation on community courts including progress to date and when she will introduce it; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3003/16]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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My Department has led a Working Group of Justice Sector officials to consider options for moving forward on the proposal to establish a Community Court and the group met a number of times during 2015. Building on the recommendations of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality, the Working Group has been working up proposals enhancing our approach to tackling low level offenders and effectively addressing their offending behaviour through a Community Justice Intervention type programme. This would be a diversion from the courts system and one that seeks to deal with low level offences while applying meaningful sanctions and focusing on the principles of restorative justice. It would build very specifically on the idea of a Community Court, and on some experiences from abroad, but without creating a new Court per se. Some of the key elements under consideration include the format of the initiative and the most appropriate model that would apply to the Irish system. It is important that, whatever model is decided upon, it adds value to interventions that are already available and that it will operate to deliver solutions in a fully integrated way. I expect proposals in this regard will be finalised over the coming weeks and they will identify the appropriate target audience, the necessary services and resources as well as setting out timelines and key performance indicators to define the success of the initiative.