We need to catch these evil burglars

Holding a mother of two young children hostage and locking her six-year-old in the bathroom during a two-hour rampage takes burglaries to a new low. Also, the fact that the victim's house had been watched for the previous four weeks is chilling in the extreme.

Thankfully, the two-year-old child in this drama slept through the event, but the mother and her six- year-old will be traumatised for a long time to come.

Home break-ins are on the increase -- up 40pc in some areas of the country.

The southside of our capital city has been worst hit than most by the rise in such crime.

The level of psychological and physical violence being employed is terrifying.

The trauma for families caught up in these ordeals will last for years after the horrific events are over.

We must give every support to Garda Operation Fiacla, which is the nationwide crackdown on burglary gangs.