Dr Ian Marder

The restorativejustice.ie website has been launched by the Restorative Justice: Strategies for Change (RJS4C) project and hosts the initial findings of its mapping exercise and its first tranche of case studies.

The website also includes opinion pieces, wider resources and news from the project, which is viewed favourably by government ministers.

In an email update, Dr Ian Marder, a criminology lecturer at Maynooth and one of the project’s core members for Ireland, said: “We are very grateful to the Department of Justice and to all our stakeholders for their ongoing support with this work. We look forward to working with you in 2021 and beyond to develop the website and the use of restorative justice and practices in Ireland.

“Please help us to share the website and its resources widely (on social media, with colleagues, and so on), and let us know if you find it to be of value, or if you would like to contribute to the website in the future.”

Welcoming the new website, Justice Minister Helen McEntee said: “I consider that this website is an excellent resource and I am delighted to be in a position to fund this very important project. It is an important part of my reform agenda to put the justice sector on a firmly digital footing.

“I want to commend the excellent work of Dr Ian Marder and his colleagues in making this new website a reality. It is clear it will contribute to increasing the accessibility of safe, high quality information about restorative justice in Ireland, as well as raise knowledge about restorative justice processes and services.

“It is an important element in changing cultures through the wider application of restorative principles and practices in criminal justice settings.”