Government approves Bill to allow judge-recommended minimum jail terms

By Gráinne Ní Aodha, PA

The Government has approved proposals to give judges the discretion to recommend minimum jail terms for those sentenced to life imprisonment.

Treason and murder are subject to mandatory life sentences in Ireland.

Life imprisonment may also be imposed for a range of other serious offences, including rape, attempted murder and assault causing serious harm.

The draft laws propose that when sentences are being handed down, judges will make a recommendation on what minimum term should be served in prison before parole is granted.

The Parole Board will be required to take that recommendation into account in making their decisions.

It will be a non-binding recommendation, and the Parole Board will continue to be responsible for deciding when a person will be released.

A prisoner will not be automatically released after the judicially recommended minimum has been served.

Minister for Justice Helen McEntee published the general scheme of the draft laws, called the Life Sentences Bill 2024 on Wednesday.

It will now be referred to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice for pre-legislative scrutiny.

The Department of Justice is to engage with the Office of Parliamentary Counsel to progress the drafting of the Bill.

Ms McEntee said this Bill will provide for sentencing courts “to reflect the gravity of the most heinous offences”.

“Judges will be able to recommend minimum terms of 25, 30 years or even longer where that is warranted,” she said.

“I am determined that the judiciary has access to a range of sentencing options to ensure that the punishment people receive matches the crime they have committed. People who commit the most serious crimes should be dealt with in a way that reflects their culpability and the harm they have caused.”

Last year, the maximum penalty for assault causing harm, one of the most commonly prosecuted violent offences, was increased from five years to 10 years.

The maximum sentences for assaulting gardaí and frontline workers were also increased from seven to 12 years.

New standalone offences of non-fatal strangulation and stalking were also introduced by Minister McEntee.

Taoiseach Simon Harris said the Bill marked “an important step forward” in strengthening laws in order to deal with serious crimes.

“It will bring about a much-needed reform in our criminal justice system and reflects our commitment to rule of law and minimum terms for those who commit the most heinous crimes,” he said.

“This legislation will provide for the long-awaited reform of life-sentencing practice in Ireland.

“It will allow judges when imposing sentence to fully reflect all of the circumstances of the offence, the culpability of the offender and the harm caused.”

Joan Dean from victims' group Advic welcomed any move towards improving sentencing guidelines.

“Sentencing has always been a very complex and inconsistent thing,” she told RTÉ radio. “So anything that would work towards maybe giving more strength to judges, who are in the best place really. They are in the courts every day waiting to hear all the details of the case. So I think it's good to give them the right to recommend a minimum term.”

Saoirse Brady of the Penal Reform Trust said it would be important that any changes are “done properly.”

“What we welcome is the fact that there are non-binding, decisions or recommendations by the judge to be handed down in these cases because I suppose we want the parole board to come forward. I think it is appropriate that the Parole Board retains the authority to make those final decisions. But at the moment, the only people eligible for parole are those on life sentences. So it can't yet be applied to any other type of sentence,” she told RTÉ radio’s Today.

Alongside the Life Sentences Bill, Ms Brady said they would like to see the Judicial Council publish sentencing guidelines to assist judges in what is very often a very difficult decision.

Ms Dean pointed out that it was important that the judge is allowed to make a recommendation, for instance, in a scenario where there were multiple victims.