Minister for Justice Michael McDowell is to establish a working group to draw up proposals for a State-wide restorative justice programme as an alternative to jail sentences for minor offences.
The group, which will be chaired by a senior legal figure and will have full-time staff, is to be announced in the next fortnight and will be asked to report to the Department of Justice in the next six months.
It will be asked to examine the impact of pilot programmes in the State and other jurisdictions, and to draw up proposals for a nationwide "cost-effective" system.
Mr McDowell announced the initiative following the publication yesterday of a report by the Oireachtas Committee on Justice which recommended a nationwide restorative justice programme. It found that such programmes had been extremely successful in reducing recidivism rates.
Members of the committee said yesterday that the extension of the programme could save millions of euro through a reduction in the number of people being jailed.
The report called for increased funding and support for the two existing pilot restorative justice programmes in the State, in Tallaght and Nenagh.
Legislation combined with a national strategy should be developed to promote the expansion of the system across the State, it said.
It also called for more funding to employ additional juvenile liaison officers to increase the availability of restorative justice for young offenders.
An awareness programme for members of the judiciary and other professionals on restorative justice should also be implemented, the report states.
Restorative justice programmes usually comprise three elements: acceptance of responsibility by the offender, including the possibility of a personal apology to victims; repairing where possible or compensating for the damage caused; and a rehabilitation aspect to facilitate offenders in addressing the underlying reasons for their behaviour.
Speaking at the launch of the report, Fine Gael justice spokesman Jim O'Keeffe, who acted as rapporteur to the committee on the report, said the cost of the scheme in two pilot areas in Nenagh and Tallaght was between €1,800 and €2,700 per offender.
"It costs more than €90,000 per year to keep a prisoner in jail," he said.
He rejected suggestions that the programme was a "soft option" compared to a jail term, and said it had the capacity to provide much more restitution to victims of crime.
"Restorative justice would put the victim back at the centre of the criminal justice process by requiring the offender to repair the harm done to the victim or the community.
"Restorative justice is best suited towards minor offenders, young and first-time offenders, involving minor offences such as shoplifting, public order offences and vandalism", he said. "The beauty of this system is its flexibility."
Fianna Fáil TD Máire Hoctor, who is a director of the restorative justice programme in Nenagh, said the programme had "proven itself to be a major force for change in the behaviour of local young people".
"More than eight out of 10 young people who complete the project do not reoffend," she said
She said she hoped that her Government colleague Mr McDowell "will take on board the report's recommendations and help put restorative justice programmes at the heart of the Irish criminal justice system".