Current sentencing practices are not fixed and immutable; a sentencing judge who concludes that current practices do not reflect the statutory maximum is not constrained by those practices but must sentence consistently with the maximum. In glassing cases (RCSI), full suspension of a custodial sentence will not ordinarily be available. An appellate court may give guideline observations on sentencing levels but only where the issue has been properly raised, argued, and supported by adequate material, and where the observations are necessary to resolve the appeal or a clearly identified sub-category of offending can be addressed.
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