A High Court judge who has jailed a man for seven years for manslaughter has said it is "high time the courts started to impose deterrent sentences for manslaughter".
Mr Justice Barry White made his comments before he passed sentence yesterday on Nicholas Donnelly (29) who stabbed his sister's boyfriend to death.
Donnelly had been found not guilty of murder but guilty of manslaughter by a jury last December.
Mr Justice White said: "There is little or no respect for human life among a certain element of society. We live in an increasingly more and more violent society. Less than 50 years ago, you could count the number of unlawful killings in this country on one hand. Now, it's almost a daily occurrence."
He added: "It seems to me that steps have to be taken to bring change towards the respect of life and human dignity. I am not saying that no one has shouted stop but to date such shouts have appeared to have fallen on deaf ears.
"A sentence of life imprisonment for manslaughter can be imposed and in appropriate cases, a life sentence should be imposed.
"Deterrence is a factor that a judge is entitled to consider when imposing sentences. It is high time the courts started to impose deterrent sentences for manslaughter," Mr Justice White said. Otherwise the public would lose confidence in the system.
However, Mr Justice White said Donnelly's case "does not merit a deterrent sentence".
He said he had not armed himself with a knife for the purpose of fatally stabbing Gordon Farrell (20). Mr Justice White said Donnelly was aware that he had "deprived" his niece of a father.
Mr Justice White sentenced Donnelly to seven years in prison with 15 months suspended to take into consideration the time he has already served.
Donnelly's murder conviction was overturned by the Court of Criminal Appeal last year, which ruled that the original trial judge had erred in law by refusing to allow the defence of self-defence to go to the jury.
Donnelly (29), of Talbot Green, Wexford, had pleaded not guilty to murdering Mr Farrell at a house at Bernadette Place in September 2001.
His sister, Amy Farrell, read to the court her victim impact statement in which she said her family hoped that "justice is served".
"The morning of 23rd of September 2001, when gardaí called to our house to tell us Gordon was dead will haunt us forever," she said. "Gordon was only 20 years old when he had his life cruelly taken from him. He had his whole life ahead of him still but Gordon missed out on everything because of Nicholas Donnelly.
"He missed his daughter's first day of school, he won't see her First Communion, walk her down the aisle or even become a grandparent. Gordon was just an ordinary boy. He was very family orientated and he loved his family, especially his daughter Nicole," she told the court.
The incident started after the couple had returned after drinking at a pub in Wexford town with Donnelly. There was no trouble immediately, but a short time later Mr Farrell began arguing with Donnelly.
Mr Farrell was stabbed 10 times and died as a result of a stab wound to the heart.
Donnelly said he had a knife to cut up "hash", and he got into a fight with Mr Farrell. He claimed the first injury occurred after Mr Farrell fell on top of him on to the sofa and that the rest of the injuries were inflicted after Mr Farrell bit down on his ear.
A portion of Donnelly's ear was found lying between Mr Farrell's legs by State Pathologist Dr Marie Cassidy.
Leave to appeal was refused.