Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

-----and meant anything, I would definitely recommend him for it. He has written:

Ultimately it is society's attitude to criminals such as "them" that prevents any serious attempt to reduce crime levels. Most people now know that 196 young people died in, or shortly after leaving, the care of the State in the decade 2000-2010. Most died from unnatural causes - drug overdose, suicide, violence. There was an investigation and a report, followed, quite rightly, by widespread outrage at the failure of the State to adequately care for them. The need to rectify the deficiencies in the system and provide the necessary resources to do so was agreed by all political parties. However, in the same decade, 135 people died while in prison or within one month of leaving prison. In other words, at the time of their death they were, or had recently been, in the care of the State. Most died from unnatural causes - drug overdose, suicide, violence. But there was no investigation, no report, no outrage, no comment from any politician and, of course, no commitment to dealing with the deficiencies in the system that may have led to some of these deaths.

We need to take on board Peter McVerry's very strong point that this issue is seen as a case of "them and us".

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