Local Fianna Fáil councillor, Aengus O’Rourke, has this week expressed his dismay at the leniency in custodial sentences handed down to recidivist offenders by the courts of law.
Speaking to the Cllr O’Rourke stated that it was not uncommon for an individual who has committed serious assaults and aggravated burglaries, (sometimes on numerous occasions ) along with other crimes, to be given a token period in jail.
“It seems that much of their sentence is either suspended or the time given for each offence is allowed to run concurrently. Opting to allow a dangerous criminal to serve a minimal period in jail, which then is further shortened by the Irish Prison Service and released early, is to make a mockery of our judicial system.
“Furthermore, it must be very demoralising for our gardai who work hard to gather evidence and bring a case to court, only to see a criminal back on the street, laughing at them, a few weeks later.
“An appropriate sentence is crucial for several reasons – it ensures balance, it punishes the offender, it gets them off the street and it sends a message to would-be offenders that there will be consequence should you offend. Put simply, a proper sentence should act as a deterrent.
“I am of the view that the punishment should fit the crime. The criminal should serve an adequate period for the offence they have been charged with and convicted of.
“Is incarceration a perfect solution? No it is not. Does prison serve to reform a criminal? Probably not. However, while locking someone up may not be ideal, I don’t know of any other way. Throughout the world countries use incarceration as a means to punish and remove offenders from society and if all prison does is take these thugs off the streets for a while, then so be it. If they are in jail, they cannot threaten, assault, or rob people and vitally, they cannot be wasting garda time,” Cllr O’Rourke said.
As jails are at capacity, Cllr O’Rourke is of the view that such a scenario may impact the sentences handed down by the judiciary.
“I am therefore calling on the Minister for Justice to once again revisit the plans to build a new super prison in Ireland, specifically at ‘Thornton Hall’ outside Dublin. Plans to develop a new 2,200 capacity prison have been in the pipeline for many years but without any real progress, €50 million having already been spent on the site. The site is owned by the Department of Justice and despite the millions spent on the site, there is still no development progress there.
“If we are going to deal with the issue of overcrowding which in turn is impacting on sentences, then we need to increase our prison capacity and so, in this regard, have written to the Minister for Justice, Helen McEntee, asking that she reopens the file on Thornton Hall and make the necessary investment,” Cllr O’Rourke asserted.
