Number of sentences being handed down of three months or less more than doubles in last five years.
The number of very short prison sentences being imposed by judges has more than doubled in recent years, raising concern among prison reform campaigners.
A total of 994 sentences of three months or less were handed down by the criminal courts last year, an increase of 43 per cent on 2019 and 116 per cent on 2017.
Penal reformer groups note research showing that short prison sentences are ineffective in terms of rehabilitation and deterrence and that alternative community-based sanctions can often be more effective at discouraging recidivism.
Labour Party justice spokesman Aodhán Ó Ríordáin, who obtained the figures through a parliamentary question, said short sentences mean there is little time for inmates to integrate into the prison system and take part in rehabilitative programmes.
