Hildegarde Naughton (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I highlight what Mr. Tom O'Malley of the National University of Ireland, Galway, calls the "quiet revolution" in the sentencing practice in our courts that has recently occurred. In three cases where judgment was delivered on 18 March, the Court of Criminal Appeal for the first time effectively introduced sentencing guidelines. This is something for which many legal academics and practitioners have been calling for some time.

The three offences concerned were the repeated sexual abuse of children, the infliction of serious harm and the illegal possession of firearms and ammunition. The latter cases have wide-ranging significance and the Court of the Criminal Appeal for the first time stated that superior courts have an important role in providing sentencing guidelines, including the provision of benchmarks for sentencing judges. The court reviewed previous decisions and indicated relevant factors that should determine sentencing before indicating that for certain firearms offences, the lower scale offence should attract a sentence of between five and seven years, the middle range should be between seven to ten years and the top of the scale should be between ten and 14 years. In the case of causing serious harm, which is an offence that can attract a life sentence, the court decided the lower end of the scale should attract a sentence of two to four years, with the middle having a sentence of four to seven and a half years and the top of the scale having a sentence of seven and half to 12 years. It also accepted that some cases might justify the imposition of a life sentence.

Of major significance is the decision of the Director of Public Prosecutions v. Z, where the court decided there is no reason the Director of Public Prosecutions cannot inform the sentencing court of the severity of the incident case as compared to previous cases. I highlight this as the Seanad should welcome this new practice, which brings greater clarity and consistency for victims and families.