Round-up: Prison Law Seminar: Sentencing - Alternatives to Imprisonment

28th February 2024

Irish Penal Reform Trust (IPRT) held our most recent Prison Law Seminar on the topic of Sentencing: Alternatives to Imprisonment.

At a time when overcrowding in prisons is continuously breaking record numbers, the emphasis on imprisonment as a sanction needs to be put under the microscope. With 74% of committals for sentences of 12 months or less, it seems time to prioritise alternatives to prison such as the wider use of suspended sentences and community service orders; but what would this look like? And what might the impact be on the criminal justice system as a whole? 

A number of experts examined the topic at the seminar that took place online on Wednesday, 28 February 2024 from 2pm – 3.30pm.

The seminar was chaired by IPRT Legal and Public Affairs Manager, Dr Helen Kehoe. Speakers included Professor Cyrus Tata (Professor of Law and Criminal Justice at Strathclyde University Law School), Associate Professor Tom O’Malley (Senior Counsel, member of the Inner Bar of Ireland), and Fíona Ní Chinnéide Deputy Director (Prisoners and Reintegration) of the Probation Service. The event comprised of a presentation from each speaker, followed by a question and answer session.

The speakers' presentation titles were as follows;

• Fíona Ní Chinnéide - ‘Holding to account: the role of the Probation Service in addressing harm and reoffending in the community’.
• Associate Professor Tom O’Malley SC - Alternatives to imprisonment for moderately serious offences: problems and issues’.
• Professor Cyrus Tata - 'Ending the Revolving Prison Door?’

• Watch the seminar recording on our YouTube.
• For more of IPRT's work on sentencing, including our newly launched sentencing briefing papers, see our website: www.iprt.ie/sentencing/