"Ireland has struggled with many of the same issues and challenges with community sentences as England and Wales (and many other jurisdictions) e.g. low use and a lack of confidence in community sentences amongst judges. The Irish approach is not a model approach. However, some aspects of it have given or have the potential to give rise to positive outcomes that are worth briefly highlighting and considering here," we read in an written evidence submitted by Dr Eoin Guilfoyle, Lecturer in Criminal Law and Criminal Justice at Brunel Law School.
In this written evidence Dr Guilfoyle analyses the issue of community sentences in Ireland. He describes brief history of the Irish Community Service Order, analyses the current legal framework, as well as he points out key differences between community sentences in Ireland and in England and Wales.
In the concluding part he highlights the aspects of the Irish experience that could inform discussions and developments relating to community sentences in England and Wales, including:
- He suggests that the rule limiting CSOs to replace imprisonment in Ireland may have curbed penal expansion, cautioning against extending the use of COs in England and Wales to minor, non-imprisonable offences.
- The integrated CSO, still new and unevaluated, shows limited and inconsistent adoption, making definitive conclusions premature.
- However, as Dr Guilfoyle points out, this concept aligns with desistance and restorative justice theories, potentially aiding desistance by offering voluntary participation.