The four-year sentence on a man who pulled off all the fingernails and toenails of a four-year-old girl "does not reflect the level of mental damage done to that child", the acting chief executive of the ISPCC, Mr Paul Gilligan, has said.
The Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform confirmed that the man could qualify for periods of temporary release or early release. Earlier this week the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard that Robert Hughes (24) used a Swiss army knife to pull out the fingernails and toenails of the child while he was babysitting her.
He also beat her when she screamed in pain. On the same occasion he pulled a toenail off his six-month-old daughter while she screamed. Hughes claimed he was "wrecked" with heroin at the time.
Mr Gilligan said the behaviour described in court "is equivalent to torture. The psychological and emotional impact on that child would be significant. I would think the sentence is very light."
He urged parents to be careful about who they got to baby-sit for them.
The Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform confirmed that the man could qualify for temporary or early release if the prison authorities were satisfied he did not pose a danger to the public and if his behaviour in prison was satisfactory. He could also qualify for a year off for good behaviour. Only sex offenders are denied all privileges.
An examination of cases reported in The Irish Times from the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court in recent months provides some sharp contrasts with the sentence on Hughes:
A man who stole a woman's handbag when her car stopped at traffic lights was jailed for seven years in May.
A heroin addict who broke into a retirement home and later assaulted a Garda was jailed for nine years in April, with a review in four years.
A burglar who confronted an 80-year-old man living alone and ransacked his house was jailed for nine years in February.
A man who tied up a shop assistant and continued serving customers himself was jailed for four years, with the last year suspended, in January.
A drug addict who vaulted a reception desk during a bank robbery and manhandled a female bank official was jailed for eight years in January.