Ireland

The emergence of restorative justice in Ireland can be traced back to the mid- 1990s, although a number of authors cite a linkage between restorative justice and Brehon Law. This Celtic form of justice emphasised restoration and reparation that was negotiated between victim and offender rather than merely seeking retribution for criminal wrongdoing through a neutral third party. In the mid twelfth century, this 'indigenous' response to offending was replaced by the British adversarial system of justice. A strong orientation towards custody among Irish judges has created a steady increase in custodial sentences with a corresponding increase in temporary release to cope with a lack of prison spaces to accommodate new inmates over the years.