James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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Restorative justice is one of a suite of measures available to the criminal justice system.  As the Deputy will be aware, at its core, restorative justice aims to enable all those affected by an offence to participate actively in repairing the harm done and to find a positive way forward.  It is founded on the principle of consent of the parties to the approach.

Restorative justice is currently delivered by An Garda Síochána, within the Garda Youth Diversion Programme; by the Probation Service with youth and adult offending, pre and post-sentence; and by the Community-Based Organisations that receive referrals at specific points in the criminal justice process.

Restorative Justice is a service that has, for some time, been an important part of the work of the Probation Service. As part of its strategy to further develop capacity to deliver a high quality service in accordance with the Victims of Crime Act 2017, the Service established a National Restorative Justice and Victim Services Unit in 2018. 

The Programme for Government also recognises the importance of restorative justice. It contains a commitment to deliver restorative justice safely and effectively and this is one of the strategic objectives for my Department over the next three years.

Five high level actions were identified and outlined in the Justice Plan 2021 and four of these steps have been completed to date.

As part of this work, the Department of Justice commissioned a number of restorative justice experts and researchers to map the delivery of restorative justice in Ireland. The findings were published on a new website in 2021. 

Policy options have now been developed for an appropriate mechanism and process to create awareness and availability of Restorative Justice at all stages of the criminal justice system, with consistency of service ensuring quality in training and practice. My Department is currently finalising a policy paper in this regard and intends to publish proposals shortly.

Following publication of the policy paper and consideration of its contents, the next steps to delivering a mechanism and process to create greater awareness and availability of Restorative Justice Interventions at all stages of the criminal justice system will involve the development of an Implementation Plan, in line with Action 98 in Justice Plan 2022.