Rosemarie Loftus

The inaugural Justice Indicators report uses a traffic light system to evaluate the resourcing, effectiveness, and efficiency of the Irish justice system across four critical areas: trust, policing, courts and prisons.

Drawing on more than 100 national and international data sources, the paper produces a total of 15 “justice indicators”, with green lights for public trust in the gardaí, judiciary and courts, as well as Ireland’s homicide rate.

Public spending on policing, courts and prisons has, however, earned red lights.

The report’s recommendations focus on the need for more comprehensive and transparent data collection and reporting across the Irish justice system.

Rosemarie Loftus, president of the Law Society of Ireland, said: “The Centre for Justice and Law Reform is a research centre established by the Law Society to improve the justice system and shape law reform to better serve the public interest.

“Reform of the justice system should be underpinned by reliable data and rigorous analysis. This approach enhances the quality of policymaking and will reinforce public trust and confidence.

“It is our hope that this research paper will assist all policymakers who impact the justice system in the allocation of resources, and support the development of fair, transparent, and effective justice policies.”

Law Society director-general Mark Garrett added: “The purpose of this Justice Indicators research paper is to provide policymakers with reliable and objective evidence to inform decision making.

“The report makes it clear that there is an urgent need for more comprehensive and transparent data collection and reporting across the Irish justice system.

“The Centre for Justice and Law Reform has made 16 specific recommendations around improvements to data collection and reporting that should be prioritised.

“The justice system is critical infrastructure in a democratic country as well as a modern economy and not one we should take for granted.

“The most recent programme for government makes clear the desire to have more evidence-based decision making to help identify policy and programmes that work and where resources can be most effectively deployed to improve outcomes for everyone.

“These recommendations relate to the Courts Service, An Garda Siochana, the Council of Europe, the Central Statistics Office (CSO) and the Department of Justice.”