The Deputy will appreciate that judges are independent in the matter of sentencing as they are in other matters concerning the exercise of judicial functions, subject only to the Constitution and the law. In accordance with this principle, the traditional approach to sentencing is for the Oireachtas to lay down the maximum penalty and for a court, having considered all the circumstances of the case, to impose an appropriate penalty up to that maximum. The court is required to impose a sentence which is proportionate not only to the crime but to the individual offender, in that process identifying where on the sentencing range the particular case should lie and then applying any mitigating factors which may be present. There are, of course, a small number of situations where statute has created important exceptions to this approach most notably by providing for mandatory sentences for murder and presumptive minimum sentences in the case of certain firearms and drug trafficking offences. It is important to note that the Director of Public Prosecutions may apply to the Court of Criminal Appeal to review a sentence she regards as unduly lenient.
As regards seeking consistency in sentencing generally, the Superior Courts have developed a substantial body of case law setting out general principles of sentencing. Sentencing practice is also being actively developed by the judiciary with the help of the Irish Sentencing Information System or "ISIS" which is an initiative of the judiciary and is an electronic system designed to gather information about the range of sentences and other penalties that have been imposed for particular types of offences across court jurisdictions.
It is worth noting that the Law Reform Commission, after detailed study some years ago, specifically recommended against the introduction of statutory sentencing guidelines. For my own part, I would not favour an undue interference in the independence of the judiciary. The decision on what kind of sentence to impose is a judicial determination and, except for exceptional circumstances, I am of the view that the Oireachtas should be cautious in prescribing mandatory sentences. A point was made in the Commission's report that the more detailed the requirements of any statutory sentencing procedure, the more likely it was that mistakes would arise leaving sentences open to challenge on technical grounds only. I should add that the Law Reform Commission has been asked to consider and, if appropriate, recommend reforms in the law in relation to mandatory sentencing. The Commission will consider the use of mandatory sentences for offences in general terms along with approaches based on "ranges of sentences". They have published a consultation paper and I look forward to receiving their final recommendations in due course.
The Deputy might also be interested to note that the subject of criminal sanctions has been a key component in the White Paper on Crime process which my Department has been engaged in since 2009. It was addressed specifically in a consultation seminar held in 2010 and was part of a discussion document and a call for written submissions. A wide range of detailed submissions was received in response to the discussion document and a report on these submissions, along with a summary of the consultation meeting, was published last year. These reports are available on my Department's website (www.justice.ie). The input received will feed into the overall White Paper process and will provide a comprehensive framework for future crime policy in the form of a National Anti-Crime strategy.
Finally, as the Deputy may be aware, I recently announced an all encompassing strategic review of penal policy. I have established a working group to carry out this review in line with the recommendations of the Thornton Hall Project Review Group which published its report last year. The review will examine all aspects of penal policy including sentencing policies and I expect the Group to report by mid 2013.
