Sentencing policy: Far too soft

The declaration of the Director for Public Prosecutions, at the Court of Appeal, that longer sentences should be imposed for burglaries, because people in rural areas “live in permanent fear or dread”, will win popular support.

The DPP, Claire Loftus, was speaking in the cases of cousins, Michael Casey, aged 34, of Clonlong halting site, in Limerick, and David Casey, aged 23, of Carragh Park, Belcamp, Dublin, who pleaded guilty to burglaries, including one at the home of John O’Donoghue.