Restorative justice as the new default in Irish criminal justice

Restorative justice has developed at a slow but steady pace in the Republic of Ireland in recent years. Now, with the publication of a new European legal instrument strongly promoting its implementation, alongside successful efforts to mainstream restorative justice in a growing number of comparable jurisdictions, Ireland has another opportunity to refocus its criminal justice system around restorative principles and processes. This article highlights some of the ways in which Ireland could adopt restorative justice as a new default practice and approach to decision-making throughout its criminal justice process. It starts by outlining some of the key features of the new Council of Europe Recommendation concerning restorative justice in criminal matters and noting its commonalities with the Irish National Commission on Restorative Justice which reported in 2009. Drawing on innovations and research from elsewhere, the article examines how restorative justice might be implemented as a new default response to offending within An Garda Siochana, the Courts, the Probation Service and the Irish Prison Service, before exploring how these agencies might use restorative approaches beyond the criminal procedure. The article provides a generally optimistic assessment of prospects for the development of restorative justice in the coming years.