Recent News
RJS4C partners publish project review
In December 2025, Restorative Justice: Strategies for Change (RJS4C) Core Members in Ireland, the Netherlands, Poland and Scotland published an article, entitled, Engaging With Policymakers and Practitioners to Implement Restorative Justice in Europe: Lessons...
Briefings published: realising victims’ right to information about restorative justice
In November, Dr. Ian Marder (Associate Professor in Criminology, Maynooth University School of Law and Criminology) and Dr. Sophie van der Valk (Research Assistant in Restorative Justice, Maynooth University School of Law and Criminology; Senior Postdoctoral...
Realising the right of victims to information about restorative justice – International RJ Week 2025 update
New briefing: Realising victims’ right to receive information about restorative justice in Ireland The VICINFO Project explored the barriers to victims receiving information about restorative justice in Ireland, and the systems in five European countries that have...
Press release: New research finds significant year-on-year increase in restorative justice referrals
New research finds significant year-on-year- increase in restorative justice referrals Restorative justice referrals increased by 88% in 2024 to 842 cases – the highest number recorded since mapping began in 2019 Expansion of services: In 2024 and 2025, specialist...
Probation RJ Action Plan published, update your service profiles, RJ in the news – summer 2025 update
Summer 2025 update - Probation RJ Action Plan published, update your service profiles, RJ in the news Restorative justice in policy and strategy Earlier this spring, the Probation Service published a Restorative Justice Action Plan. This outlines five workstreams to...
Mapping exercise update, restorative justice in Programme for Government and official reports – spring 2025 update
Spring 2025 update - Mapping exercise update, restorative justice in Programme for Government and official reports Mapping exercise 2024 – update and request for information Work is underway to map the use of restorative justice in Irish criminal justice in 2024 (see...
Post-election manifesto round-up – Christmas 2024 update
Christmas 2024 update - Post-election manifesto round-up, employment and training opportunities Post-election manifesto round-up Among the parties from which at least 1 TD was elected, several manifestos referenced restorative justice. The references (by party,...
Probation Service seeks expressions of interest for regional expansion of restorative justice
Pre-RJ Week update - Restorative justice set for regional expansion, register now for Limerick conference Probation Service seeks expressions of interest for regional expansion of restorative justice The Probation Service is inviting expressions of interest for new...
Scoping Inquiry rejects ‘large-scale restorative justice project’ – September 2024 update
September 2024 update - Scoping Inquiry rejects 'large-scale restorative justice project', RJC hosts first national community of practice Scoping Inquiry rejects ‘large-scale restorative justice project’ The government has published a Scoping Inquiry into Historical...
Restorative justice referrals in 2023 remain below pre-pandemic levels
Dr. Ian Marder Maynooth University School of Law and Criminology This publication marks the fifth year in which we conducted a mapping exercise of the use of restorative justice in Ireland, focusing on cases being referred within the context of the criminal justice...
Stakeholders seek project continuation in Ireland – spring 2024 update
Spring 2024 update - Stakeholders seek project continuation in Ireland Survey indicates stakeholders seek continuation of RJS4C Ireland Thanks to those of you (n=42) who filled out the survey to determine the future of the Irish arm of RJS4C, the European dimension of...
Views sought on the future of RJS4C Ireland – January 2024 update
January 2024 update - Views sought on the future of RJS4C Ireland Restorative Justice: Strategies for Change (RJS4C) is a five-year collaboration between nine countries to implement the Council of Europe Recommendation on restorative justice. As the European project...
Ireland’s restorative justice providers agree to collaborate to strengthen provision
Strengthening Restorative Justice Provision and Collaboration in Ireland 1 December, 2023 At a meeting of restorative justice service managers in June 2023, one agreed action was for Maynooth University to host and facilitate a meeting on the development of...
International Restorative Justice Week 2023 – RJ events, annual reports, podcasts and in the Oireachtas
International Restorative Justice Week 2023 As International Restorative Justice Week 2023 (19-25 November) is almost upon us, please see below for a pre-RJ Week update from Restorative Justice: Strategies for Change. RJ Week is a great time to raise awareness of...
Restorative justice services receive new funding, expand, publish figures – Autumn 2023 update
Autumn 2023 update - Restorative justice services receive new funding, expand, publish figures Restorative justice receives funding in budget As the Irish Times reports, part of the additional Probation Service funding will be dedicated to restorative justice. This is...
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...
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,...