The Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration works across Government to drive reform and further its core vision of achieving a safe, fair and inclusive Ireland. The completion and publication of this review fulfils Action 1.1 of the Review of Policy Options for Prison and Penal Reform 2022-2024, approved by Government in August 2022. To achieve this action, in December 2020, the Department and the Probation Service established a working group (WG) comprising of staff from the Department’s Criminal Justice Policy Function and the Probation Service Business Support and Development Directorate to conduct a review of the General Scheme of the Criminal Justice (Community Sanctions) Bill 2014. The WG group met continuously during the first three quarters of 2021 and examined each Part of the 2014 General Scheme for consistency with current policy approach and necessary updates. Consultation with the Irish Prison Service also took place in the third quarter of 2021. Subsequent meetings took place throughout 2022 to discuss further matters relating to the review and reach final agreement.

PDF p.21 Head 24: Deferred sentence supervision order The provisions in this Head only allow the Court to defer sentencing once. Therefore, separate provision needs to be made, or the inclusion of an exemption for situations pertaining to problem solving Courts such as the Drug Court which make use of continuous adjournments in a step-by-step approach. The working group suggests the use of an appropriately broad definition, rather than specifying the Drug Court, in order to future-proof the legislation. There may be for example, specialist Mental Health or Domestic Violence Courts in the future. There may be a need to include situations where a person’s mental health is at issue and the Court needs to be in a position to problem solve this in respect of the additional services that are required to address the behaviours and harms that has brought the person into contact with the Criminal Justice System. This is only an enabling provision and not a recommendation to include such Courts. The working group also considers the Head more cumbersome than is necessary for the effectiveness of the Order.

In Subhead (2) it should not be necessary to have to wait for an assessment report before deferring a sentence. The sentence may be deferred on conditions and supervision by the Probation Service, with a report prepared for Court in advance of any sentence being imposed. The conditions in Subheads (3) and (4) can be simplified and aligned with the conditions in Article 4 of Framework Decision 2008/947/JHA and the Criminal Justice (Mutual Recognition of Probation Judgments and Decisions) Act 2019. The deferred supervision order would not be eligible for transfer under Framework Decision 2008/947/JHA and the Criminal Justice (Mutual Recognition of Probation Judgments and Decisions) Act 2019 as the minimum length remaining at the time of transfer, of an order eligible for transfer, is six months, the full term of a deferred sentence order...

PDF p.31 Drafting may need to consider revising this Part to add Heads, including, but not limited to on:
• Amendment of the Criminal Justice (Mutual Recognition of Probation Judgements and Decisions) Act 2019 to include a Parole Supervision Order as provided for in the 2019 Parole Act. 
• Supervision Order under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1977 Section 28(2) of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1977 (as amended) provides a supervision order for a maximum of 12 months by which the Court shall, if in its opinion, the welfare of the convicted person warrants its so doing, allow a convicted person enter in lieu of the imposition of any other penalty. It is a conviction for criminal record purposes...