It's a pity you don't appear to have taken the time to read and understand the subject of the Irish Times poll you linked to.
The question posed in the poll is "Does the high rate of reoffending by former prisoners indicate the penal system is failing?" which as I'm sure posters will appreciate is different to proposing that the solution to the problem is mandatory sentencing.
Interestingly, the first poster listed after the poll results includes this comment : "The question asked is so populist and inflammatory as to do an injustice to this particular newspaer [sic] and is more fitting of the garbage that garnishes the front page of comics like the Star and the Mirror"
Maybe Ms. Kennedy is listening, but I suspect she isn't, having effectively turned the Irish Times Magazine into a girl's Saturday comic. As a consequence I no longer take the Irish Times on Saturdays.
The question posed in the poll is "Does the high rate of reoffending by former prisoners indicate the penal system is failing?" which as I'm sure posters will appreciate is different to proposing that the solution to the problem is mandatory sentencing.
Interestingly, the first poster listed after the poll results includes this comment : "The question asked is so populist and inflammatory as to do an injustice to this particular newspaer [sic] and is more fitting of the garbage that garnishes the front page of comics like the Star and the Mirror"
Maybe Ms. Kennedy is listening, but I suspect she isn't, having effectively turned the Irish Times Magazine into a girl's Saturday comic. As a consequence I no longer take the Irish Times on Saturdays.