Recent News
Restorative response report on historical abuse of children by Jesuit priest Joseph Marmion published 14th August 2023
Past pupils describe life-long impacts of abuse and the need for healing and redress Jesuits acknowledge the harm done through original abuse and the missed opportunities to reach out to past pupils who may have been harmed The engagement between past pupils who were...
New Department of Justice Restorative Justice Policy Paper, Irish Prison Service case studies – Summer 2023 update
Summer 2023 update - New Department of Justice Restorative Justice Policy Paper, Irish Prison Service case studies Department of Justice publishes restorative justice policy paper The new policy aims ‘to ensure that safe, high-quality restorative justice is accessible...
New mapping exercise suggests drop in cases; Council of Europe adopts Victims’ Recommendation – Spring 2023 update
Spring 2023 update - New mapping exercise suggests drop in referrals, Council of Europe adopts Victims' Recommendation New figures suggest fewer restorative justice referrals in 2022 than in 2019 Today, we published the results of our third mapping exercise, covering...
New data suggests fewer restorative justice referrals in 2022 than in 2019
Dr. Ian D. Marder Maynooth University, School of Law and Criminology Following our mapping exercises of restorative justice in Ireland in 2019 and 2020, we are pleased to publish a third dataset, covering the 2021 and 2022 calendar years. The new data provide a...
MH Task Force reports, RJ Forum for Blackrock College, screening of The Meeting – November 2022 (and RJ Week) update
November update - Mental Health Task Force proposes restorative justice, Restorative Justice Forum established for Blackrock College abuse Mental Health Task Force proposes diversion to restorative justice The final report of the Mental Health Task Force proposes a...
Screening of The Meeting, article on restorative youth justice, using RP to build understanding between Gardaí and Black community – October 2022 update
October update - Screening of The Meeting, article on restorative youth justice, using RP to build understanding between Gardaí and Black community Screening of The Meeting for RJ Week, with Maynooth University School of Law and Criminology This International...
Penal policy review, blog on data collection, tribute to Dr. Vicky Conway – September 2022 update
September update - Penal Policy Review launched, blog on data collection published, tribute to Dr. Vicky Conway Restorative justice in the Review of Policy Options for Prison and Penal Reform 2022-2024 In August, the Minister for Justice announced the approval...
New article on restorative youth justice in Ireland
In September 2022, academic journal Youth Justice published a new article on the use of restorative justice and restorative practices with young people in Ireland. The article, entitled ‘Challenges in the Future of Restorative Youth Justice in Ireland: Minimising...
RP in the IPS College, becoming a RJ Project Officer, and Louise O’Neill in the Irish Times – August 2022 update
August update - Restorative practices in the Irish Prison Service College, becoming a Restorative Justice Project Officer, and Louise O'Neill in the Irish Times We are grateful to the Irish Penal Reform Trust (here) and Irish Legal News (here) for...
Ireland hosts Summer Institute on Communicating Restorative Justice to the Public
From 16-18 August 2022, Dr. Ian Marder (Assistant Professor in Criminology, School of Law and Criminology), Dr. Threase Finnegan-Kessie (Manager of Innovation Projects, Mi:Lab), Trevor Vaugh (Principal Investigator, Mi:Lab) and Layne Aston (Executive Assistant,...
Mapping of RJ in 2020 published, RJ features in GBV strategy implementation plan – July 2022 update
July 2022 update - Mapping exercise of restorative justice in 2022 published, restorative justice features in new gender-based violence Implementation Plan New research published mapping the use of restorative justice in Ireland in 2020 We are delighted to announce...
New research suggests rising cases, mixed picture, for restorative justice in Ireland in 2020
Dr. Ian D. Marder Maynooth University, School of Law and Criminology In June 2022, Restorative Justice: Strategies for Change (RJS4C) published a second sweep of data as part of our mapping exercise on restorative justice in Irish criminal justice. The goal was to...
New Citizens’ Information page, Ireland represented at EFRJ conference, Scottish services launched – June 2022 update
June 2022 update - New Citizens' Information page, Ireland represented at EFRJ conference, Scottish services launched New Citizens’ Information page on restorative justice We are grateful to Citizens’ Information for working with us to draft and publish...
New article, blog and research summaries published, RJS4C meets in Tallinn – May 2022 update
May 2022 update - New article, blog and research summaries published, RJS4C meets in Tallinn New article published - mapping restorative justice and restorative practices in Ireland May saw the publication of an article that analyses the data we collected for the...
RJS4C partners hold annual meeting in Tallinn, Estonia
On 19-20 May 2022, Core Members from participating countries in Restorative Justice: Strategies for Change (RJS4C) came together for their annual meeting. Hosted and funded by the Estonian Ministry of Justice, this was their second in-person meeting, following the...
Article on mapping exercise published in the International Journal of Law, Crime and Justice
In 2021, this website published the data and initial analysis from our mapping exercise to measure and capture the use of restorative justice and restorative practices in the Irish criminal justice system. In May this year, the research was published as an academic...
Restorative justice in the Oireachtas and Justice Plan 2022, open jobs in the field – April 2022 update
April 2022 update - Restorative justice in the Oireachtas and Justice Plan 2022, open jobs in the field of restorative justice service provision Restorative justice discussed in Oireachtas Joint Committee on Justice Restorative justice was discussed by TDs and...
Launch of Criminal Justice Sectoral Strategy, Northern Irish Adult RJ Strategy, Law Reform Commission consultation on state compensation for victims – March update
March update - Launch of Criminal Justice Sectoral Strategy, Northern Irish Adult RJ Strategy, Law Reform Commission consultation on state compensation for victims Criminal Justice Sectoral Strategy launched This month saw the launch of the Criminal Justice Sectoral...
Over 130 participate in national sharing webinar on restorative community development
From 9:30-11:30 on March 1st 2022, over 130 people joined a national webinar on restorative community development. The webinar aimed to create a platform for local restorative practice networks to share elements of their work with others engaged, or hoping to engage,...
Gratitude for Kieran O’Dwyer; spotlight on victims of crime; new blog on the Venice Declaration – February update
Gratitude for Kieran O'Dwyer; spotlight on victims of crime; new blog on the Venice Declaration - February update Our sincerest gratitude and best wishes to Dr. Kieran O’Dwyer After three years as a core member of RJS4C, Kieran is stepping down to focus on other...
Venice Declaration adopted; RPI launches quality assurance framework; RJ in England and Northern Ireland – January update
January update - Venice Declaration adopted; RPI launches quality assurance framework; RJ in England and Northern Ireland Venice Declaration unanimously adopted by European justice ministers December 2021 saw justice ministers from across Europe meet in Italy...
Restorative community development webinar; spotlight on Scotland; European sex offenders’ Recommendation – December update
December update - Restorative Community Development webinar; spotlight on Scotland; European sex offenders' Recommendation RJS4C collaborates on restorative community development webinar – register now! Following a successful in-person event in Cabra in...
International RJ week events; Mother and Baby Homes reports cite restorative practices – November update
November update - International Restorative Justice Week events; Mother and Baby Homes reports cite restorative practices Events for International RJ Week and beyond This month, there are several events marking International Restorative Justice Week (21-27 November)....
Blogs reviewing Stronger, research on supporting victims in restorative justice, and seeking interviewees published; jobs, events, articles and videos – October update
October update - Blogs reviewing Stronger, research on supporting victims in restorative justice, and seeking interviewees published; jobs, events, articles and videos Stronger completes run at Dublin Theatre Festival, stakeholder group members publish...