The Director of Public Prosecutions has said he believes Judges should establish clear sentencing guidelines for different categories of crimes, and such guidelines should then be kept under ongoing review.
James Hamilton said that if the courts do not establish such sentencing principles, the Oireachtas may resort more and more to establishing mandatory sentences - something the DPP says is not desirable.
He was speaking at the 8th Annual National Prosecutors' Conference, held today at Dublin Castle.
The DPP said he believed a permanent and dedicated Court of Appeal was vital if the courts are to establish clear sentencing principles.
This proposed court would subsume the Court of Criminal Appeal, and be filled by Judges who would work as full-time Appeal Judges who would develop best practice on matters relating to sentencing guidelines and principles.
Such a proposal is currently being considered by a committee chaired by Mrs Justice Susan Denham of the Supreme Court.
Drug trafficking
Today's conference also heard from barrister and lecturer Tom O'Malley who carried out a study of 100 cases where people were sentenced under Section 15A of the Drugs Trafficking Act.
Of the cases he analysed, Mr O'Malley found that 60 offenders were Irish, and 40 were foreign nationals.
Around 95% of those charged pleaded guilty.
21 people were jailed for 10 years or more; 50 got a sentence of five to nine years; 21 offenders got three or four years; Six got two years or less and two got suspended sentences.
88 were male and 12 were female.
Only five of those caught and convicted from the sample of 100 cases were at the higher echelons of the drugs trade.
Mr O'Malley noted that mandatory sentencing usually results in increased prison populations and longer sentences, with little thought devoted to what will happen when prisoners are released back into the community.
