ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the landscape of non-compliance and breach processes in the context of community service orders and early release from prison in the Republic of Ireland. It describes how breach processes are regulated in law by examining the governing legislation but also by analysing the available practice guidelines and insights provided by previous research. The issue of the credibility of breach processes is not as salient in the Republic of Ireland as it is elsewhere and the limited statistics available suggest that the number of persons subjected to these processes is still relatively modest. In general, very little information or previous research is available on breach decision-making processes in Ireland, although more is known about enforcement approaches in relation to community service orders (CSOs) than early release. Current enforcement approaches to non-compliance in the context of CSOs are relatively responsive in that the offender is proactively encouraged to complete their orders and the three-strikes rule applies to minor non-compliance. In contrast to this, little public information is available about the decision-making processes relating to the enforcement of non-compliance in relation to early release. Recent efforts to provide a more structured and supported form of early release, such as the Community Return Scheme, certainly offer more hope for the future.
