Jackboot response to crime scare

I AM deeply disturbed by the increasing number of Irish neo-fascists. Every time there is a murder they call for armed police, for the army to patrol the streets, for the removal of defendants’ rights and the brutalisation of prisoners. The way they go on, you would think Ireland was overrun by criminals and was about to become an anarchic failed state like Somalia.

The fact is that the crime rate in Ireland is very low. We have a murder rate of about one per 100,000 people. In contrast, Britain and the US have a murder rate of two and six per 100,000 people, respectively.

The Irish prison rate is about 85 per 100,000, which is the average for a modern western society.