A phone call to the Taoiseach, a quick apology, and then back to business as usual. Or so junior minister Tony Killeen must fervently hope, writes Mary Raftery.
Though why Mr Killeen should be apologising to the Taoiseach is a mystery. Bertie Ahern was neither raped as a child nor were any of his relatives murdered by those on whose behalf the constituency office of the Minister for State has been so active.
Last week, when it emerged that Tony Killeen's office in his Clare constituency had sent letters under his name to the Minister for Justice seeking the early release of convicted child rapist Joseph Nugent, Mr Killeen's defence was that he knew nothing about it. It was all the fault of people working in his office.
When it was discovered earlier this week that similar letters had been sent by his office with regard to a convicted murderer, we heard the same excuse trotted out.
While something of a departure from the "just following orders" defence, blaming the underlings used to be considered an even more contemptible abrogation of personal responsibility.
Other TDs and Ministers, themselves perhaps also merrily sending off letters seeking early release of prisoners, must be carefully watching whether this particular tack will get Tony Killeen off the hook.
The relative docility of the Opposition is an interesting aspect of the affair. With the notable exception of Madeleine Taylor-Quinn (Fine Gael candidate in the same constituency), everyone else is busy keeping the head down.
Glass houses and stones spring to mind, and the conclusion that they are all at it is hard to escape. We know, for instance, that Fine Gael TD Pat Breen had to apologise to victims of Joseph Nugent last October after he had put down a parliamentary question concerning the rapist's sentence.
It would be hard to overstate the pain and anger caused to victims by this kind of crass and self-serving activity on the part of our elected representatives (or their offices). The obstacles faced by those who have been raped, either as adults or children, in securing justice are enormous and require an almost heroic determination to overcome.
In Dublin, for instance, figures released last year showed that out of roughly 12,000 calls received by the Rape Crisis Centre (almost half of them relating to sexual abuse in childhood), only 95 cases were reported to gardaí, and further that a mere five went to trial, resulting in four convictions.
That a Government Minister (or his office) would then make representations to reduce the sentence of anyone found guilty of such serious crimes must be considered grossly offensive.
At least in the case of Tony Killeen and his office, we know that their efforts were unsuccessful. The operation had more the appearance of a cynical little game (played with taxpayers' money, incidentally), where TDs send off letters which have no effect but do allow them to claim to their supplicant constituents that they have done their best for them.
This, however, is a relatively benign view of the matter. Much more worrying is the possibility that some representations of this kind may in fact succeed, and that felons guilty of heinous crimes may actually be released early as a result. In marginal constituencies, where every single vote counts, such a possibility must now be seriously considered.
Our anxieties in this regard could, however, be quite easily dispelled by the Government. At the very least, Michael McDowell as Minister for Justice should publicly indicate how many requests he has received from elected representatives concerning prisoners and their sentences. He should break this down on an annual basis, naming the source of each representation made to him, the nature of the crimes committed and his own response.
He should further announce that from now on he will automatically release publicly details of any future representations of this kind together with his decision in each case.
Such measures could allay public concern that influence in high places may get you out of jail. They would also most likely curtail, if not eradicate, such a deeply distasteful practice, and at the same time, save public funds by reducing the time civil servants have to spend dealing with this kind of correspondence.
And what about Tony Killeen himself? It seems he is not even to get a slap on the wrist, with no public statements on the matter so far from the Government or the Taoiseach.
The seriousness with which issues of this kind used to be viewed is illustrated by the fate of Bobby Molloy, who resigned as minister of state for transport in 2002 after it emerged that his office had made similar representations in the case of another child abuser.
At least he did the honourable thing and fell on his sword.
Tony Killeen, it appears, has no such intention. And let the warning go out loud and clear to anyone who might think of working for him in the future - watch your back!