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In the Central Criminal Court for the year 2006, 17.64% of all non-mandatory sentences
were concludedbywayof a whollysuspended sentence. 72
In Ireland the part-suspended sentence is a common sentencing option exercised by the
Central andCircuit Criminal Courts but is hardlyever utilised in the District Court. 73
The power of the courts to suspend sentences has finally been placed on a statutory
footing about a centuryafter the judges in the Irish criminal courts first commenced to use
the disposal as an inherent power of their jurisdiction. Such practice was to spread very
quickly upon the establishment of the Irish Free State to all levels of criminal jurisdiction
for both indictable and summary offences. While the chronological origins of such
jurisdiction may be somewhat obscured, the power of the Irish criminal courts to suspend
sentences became unassailable well before the passing of the legislation which finally
granted the courts the statutory power to do so. As a result the search for the rationale
andfunction of the sanction must initiallybe located within judicial deliberations.
The Rationales underpinning the Suspended Sentence
This section sets out to explore the possible rationales for the suspended sentence as it
developed within a judicial framework in Ireland. However, the development of the
sanction in the jurisdiction of England and Wales is constantly referred to by all of the
leading Irish writers as a comparator to explain the purpose and operational aspects of the
sanction (O’Malley 2006, Walsh 2002, Whitaker 1985). This same method was also used
by Andrews L.C.J. in R –v- Wightman [1950] N.I. 124, when the court of its own motion
added an additional ground of appeal which questioned the very validity of the suspended
sentence. That court proceeded to examine the historical validity of the suspended
sentence bythe Irish criminal courts before 1922 where Andrews L.C.J. stated:
“… [t]here does not appear to be anyreference in the English text books on criminal
lawandpractice to recordedsentences such as that imposed upon the prisoner in the
72 Six cases in total of which 3 rapes, 1 sexual assault, 1 criminal damage and1 manslaughter, which was later reactivated upon complaint (Registrar Central Criminal Court to Writer 11th
Oct 2007).
73 In 2005, a 0.99% (or 58) of all District court custodial disposals had a part suspended element. In 2006, 2.15% (or 122) of all District Court custodial disposals had a part suspended
element. (Court Service 1976-1977 cols. 655-656) internal data – examined by writer). In 2006 Dublin Circuit Criminal Court disposed of 925 convictions as follows: 333 fully
custodial sentences, 369 fullysuspended sentences and 223 partially suspended sentences. Thus 40% of custodial sentences were partially suspended in the Dublin Circuit Criminal
Court for that year (Courts Service – Personal Communication 10th October 2007). In Cork Circuit Criminal Court for 2006, 39% of all custodial sentences excluding fully
suspendedsentences hadapart suspendedsentence element attached. (CorkCircuit Criminal Court – Case Books examinedbywriter October 2007).
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