Paddy Barry death - Elderly are prisoners in own homes

Details of the events leading to the death of Paddy Barry, the 82-year-old Waterford pensioner, are still very sketchy.

He called the gardaí to say that his home had been broken into and he was able to direct them to his house. He did not say that he had actually been attacked, but when the gardaí got to the house they found him unconscious with serious injuries.

He never regained consciousness before dying in the early hours of yesterday morning. What can be said for certain is that somebody broke into his home and this in itself should be considered an affront to any civilised society.