Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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As part of the Probation Service’s overall strategy to further develop capacity to deliver a high quality service and meet the requirements contained in section 26 of the Criminal Justice (Victims of Crime) Act 2017, the Service established a National Restorative Justice and Victim Services Unit (RJVSU) in October 2018. The Unit meets two core objectives:

1. Provide leadership and support for the consistent and integrated provision of a range of restorative justice models within the context of Probation assessment and supervision.
2. Act as the central point of contact for the Service to ensure an effective response to requests and queries from victims. This may include a request for engagement in a restorative justice process.

All Probation interventions seek to address the harm caused by offending behaviour and consequently victim consideration is incorporated into pre-sanction assessment as well as supervision. At its core, restorative justice aims to enable all those affected by an offence to participate.

The Probation Service delivers restorative justice directly, and through several community-based organisations that receive referrals at specific points in the criminal justice process and the Probation Service currently provides funding to five community-based organisations to provide dedicated restorative justice programmes. These 5 programmes, and the areas they provide services to, are listed below:

• Restorative Justice Services - Dublin, Wicklow, Meath and Kildare

• Restorative Justice in the Community - Tipperary, Laois, Offaly and has recently expanded to Westmeath

• Le Chéile - Limerick, Cork & Clare (for young people aged 16-24 years)

• Cornmarket Project - Wexford

• Tuam Community Training Centre - Galway, Sligo, and Roscommon.

Other Probation Service funded CBOs also use restorative approaches in their work with clients to promote respectful relationships and address the harm caused by their offending.

In 2020, Restorative Justice Strategies for Change (RJS4C) Ireland, of which the Probation Service is a core member, began mapping the organisations involved in restorative justice, the levels of training, and the use of restorative justice and restorative practices in the Irish criminal justice system. RJS4C have published data tracking restorative justice in Ireland from 2019-2023: . Data in relation to 2024 is currently being finalised by the Probation Service and will be published as part of their Annual Report for 2024.

The information requested by the Deputy is contained in the table below.

-	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023
Probation Service (Adult)	37	24	36	63	81
Young Person's Probation*	11	15	5	12	-
Le Chéile	31	26	21	12	21
Cornmarket	16	11	19	10	23
Restorative Justice Services	433	177	187	240	245
Restorative Justice in the Community	200	87	132	88	77

*Probation figures from 2023 do not distinguish between adults and juveniles.