A LIMERICK-based mentoring service for children and young people played host to one of Ireland’s most significant annual events on restorative justice.
In Thomond Park, Le Chéile, who provide services to people aged 12-18 years engaged in the probation service, hosted the ‘Empathy in Action: Restorative Justice and the Human Side of Harm’ conference.
Bringing together justice professionals, academics, community workers and policymakers, this year’s conference focused on empathy as a driving force for repair, accountability, and lasting change in how Ireland responds to crime.
Minister of State at the Justice Department, Limerick TD Niall Collins, opened the event, telling attendees how restorative justice provides those responsible for crime “the chance to understand their mistake and its repercussions on real people, to build empathy for others, and learn the human consequences of their actions”.
The Criminal Justice Bill 2023 which aims to amend the Criminal Justice Act 2017 is currently at the second stage of the Dáil, with government already indicating its support.
It aims to permit and encourage courts, GardaÃ, and the Director of Public Prosecutions to refer cases to restorative justice schemes.
Alan Quinn, regional manager at Le Chéile Mentoring, said that “empathy and the justice sector are not always spoken about in the same conversation. This conference brought together people who see every day how empathy helps repair harm, reduce reoffending, and restore lives.”
On the day, a wide range of speakers contributed to discussions on restorative justice, as well a person who went through the restorative justice programme themselves sharing their experience of attempting to repair the harm of their offence.