The Court of Appeal has upheld the original sentencing decision from Waterford Circuit Court, which imposed a custodial sentence of five and a half years, with the final 18 months suspended, for aggravated burglary and false imprisonment, and a concurrent four-year sentence for making a threat to kill or cause serious harm. The respondent had pleaded guilty to the charges, which involved a premeditated attack on an ex-partner in her home. Despite the Director of Public Prosecutions' appeal on grounds of undue leniency, considering the aggravating factors and the statutory aggravating factor of section 40 of the Domestic Violence Act 2018, the Court of Appeal found that the original sentence fell within the margin of discretion and that the suspension of part of the sentence was based on a rational basis to encourage rehabilitation.
Court of Appeal, aggravated burglary, false imprisonment, threat to kill, undue leniency, Domestic Violence Act 2018, rehabilitation, suspended sentence, premeditation, victim impact statement, probation report, early guilty plea, concurrent sentences, statutory aggravating factor, intimate partner violence, section 40 (Domestic Violence Act 2018), section 12 (1)(b) (Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Act 2001), section 15 (1) (Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act 1997), section 5 (Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act 1997).