Sir, – Once again in Dublin, heavily armed thugs were able to strike terror into the hearts of innocent civilians. Will the perpetrators be brought to justice? Based on many similar bloody attacks over recent years, not very likely. The Garda knows the make-up of most of the gangs responsible for these outrages, but their greatest weapon has always been fear and intimidation of witnesses. This makes it almost impossible for normal court procedures to produce results.
The only court suitably structured to deal in a meaningful way with the scourge of paramilitaries and armed gangs is the Special Criminal Court. Not only should it remain an essential part of the justice system, it should be granted further powers to stamp out this kind of thuggery. – Yours, etc,
NIALL GINTY,
Killester, Dublin 5.
Sir, – Fine Gael has always, to some extent, prided itself on not being a populist party. However, the decision to not only attack Sinn Féin over the issue of the Special Criminal Court but to establish a second such court is a worrying example of populism playing on people’s well-founded fears. To propose to defend the rule of law by an institution that undermines one of the cornerstones of criminal justice in the common law world is utterly illogical. The right to be tried by a jury of one’s peers is one of the central principles at the heart of the rule of law. It hands victory to terrorists and organised criminals to allow our fear of them to overcome us to such an extent that we abandon this sacrosanct principle. – Yours, etc,
NIALL GUINAN,
Athlone, Co Westmeath.