Mr. Niall Walsh:

The existing legislation which provides for a one-year sentence has excluded many. It is scary, or at least should be acknowledged, that 95% of the prison population will be released back into society. They are our neighbours, sons, daughters and cousins and will be back living in the community, although I do not mean for victims to be left out of the matter in any way. A judge decides the sentence, but the reality is that it starts only on release, given the barriers to reintegration and so on. The legislation in question will lead to safer communities. I apologise for repeating myself, but I wish to get the point across.