REMARKS BY PRESIDENT MARY McALEESE AT A LUNCH TO CELEBRATE THIRTY YEARS OF THE WORK OF THE PROBATION
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT MARY McALEESE AT A LUNCH TO CELEBRATE THIRTY YEARS OF THE WORK OF THE PROBATION BOARD FOR NORTHERN IRELAND
Chairman, distinguished guests,
I am delighted to be here and on behalf of Martin and myself, I would like to thank the Chairman of the Northern Ireland Probation Board, Brian Rowntree, for his very kind invitation to join you today to celebrate the Board’s landmark thirtieth birthday.
You are certainly entitled to celebrate and to look back at three difficult decades with justifiable pride. The Northern Ireland Probation Board has built an enviable reputation for dedication, for professionalism and for success, against a backdrop few other probation services have had to deal with. So today is a way of thanking and affirming the many men and women whose commitment sustained the spirit of the service and whose skill honed it into an organisation to be proud of.
Belfast is as you know my home city and we all have a special affection for our birthplace. It is a city which bears the scars of suffering - as indeed does much of Northern Ireland - but transcending all of that is a new mood of regeneration, a much deeper faith in the future. It has been hard earned and always it has been easier to surrender to despair or cynicism or “giveuppery”. Thankfully there have been champions of the harder road - the road of faith in each other, of belief in the power the human person has to change behaviour and to change destiny. The very nature of your work throws you right to the forefront of those who believe that the past does not have to hold us forever in its grip, that people can commit to new ways of thinking, acting, believing, working. There can be partnership where there was confrontation, respect where there was contempt. If men and women were incapable of change you simply would not exist and if your work did not bear fruit you would have gone out of business long ago. But the evidence is in that an intuitive probation service can help re-route lives, away from the dark side. The evidence is also in that an intuitive people, hearts broken by violence, spirits almost overwhelmed by the baleful forces of historic enmities, can pick themselves up, can transcend those forces and write a very different future for each other - one that will make their children and grandchildren proud.
I recall reading an article in the Irish News featuring a story from the 1931 edition, recounting the story of the death of an elderly ex-convict by the name of James Brady. He had been in and out of prison since childhood for very petty offences including a stretch of seven years for stealing an empty box. The Recorder at the Old Bailey, confronted with a 72 year old recidivist remarked that Brady was a classic example of a criminal who was manufactured by a crude criminal justice system. The judge helped him to get work and later visited him when he was dying. Brady’s comment was that the Recorder’s treatment of him was “his first foretaste of heaven.” It was a very telling comment for there is little doubt that Brady’s life had given him good reason to know what hell was like.
Many people whose lives took a twist or turn the wrong way can also say that they too have been helped to build or rebuild their lives anew - thanks to you. It is privileged work you do, to be part of the caring and effective rebuilding of a life. Each life rebuilt makes families, streets and communities stronger. It is not done for thanks but you are owed considerable thanks and a day like this of celebration. Enjoy it. It too was hard-earned!
I know that in recent years the work of the Service has undergone a period of significant change and that you have responded positively to the challenges this has created. You have continued to review and modernise your working practices, to enhance efficiency and value for money, and throughout all this you have continued to ensure that your overriding priority is the protection of the public.
Addressing crime requires a co-ordinated approach by all involved. It is clear from the theme of this event - Celebration of Partnership – that the P.B.N.I. recognises this fact. For many years Probation Services, both North and South, have recognised that they must work in partnership, not only with their partners within the criminal justice system and with other relevant Government Departments and statutory agencies but also with local community organisations whose role is crucial in addressing the issue of crime and its effects. Where local communities become part of identifying problems and finding solutions, then the resources of the Probation Services and other agencies can be harnessed to best effect in those areas. No one agency or organisation can address these problems on its own. I am glad to hear that there is ongoing and fruitful contact between the PBNI and the Probation and Welfare Service in the South.
The P.B.N.I. has had 30 years experience of working in partnership with the community, the voluntary sector and statutory partners. During the years of the conflict, it has enabled important work to be done in areas where some agencies, particularly those with law enforcement functions, were at risk of exclusion.
The work you do is difficult and demanding but, I have no doubt rewarding and fulfilling. You can be justifiably proud of the contribution each and every one of you has made to ensure the success of the P.B.N.I. I hope that you will long continue to have the energy and interest that sustain this vital work.
Thank you.