Ahern looks at tougher sentences for burglars

GOVERNMENT-APPOINTED legal experts are examining tougher sentences for burglars as crime figures revealed a massive jump in home break-ins.

Garda bosses are monitoring the trend, which includes a 50% hike in aggravated, or armed, burglaries.

Reacting to the figures, Garda Commissioner Fachtna Murphy appealed for householders to stymie burglars by taking the “small steps” of locking doors and using alarms.