Short term prison sentences for violent crimes 'a waste of time' 

Experiencing the criminal justice system first hand has motivated Eileen and Pat O’Neill to call for reform in sentencing for violent crime

Parents of Matt O'Neill, Eileen and Pat. They believe that any attack in which someone is repeatedly assaulted when lying defenceless on the ground should automatically prove an intent to cause serious injury or death. Picture: Dan Linehan

Matt O’Neill, who was fatally assaulted outside his Carrigaline home just after Christmas in 2022, should have celebrated his 32nd birthday on Sunday.

His parents will still mark their only child’s birthday but must now do so in the knowledge that one of the men convicted of his manslaughter will be released, free to return to his Cork home near where the O’Neills live in December, just 17 months after he was sentenced.