Sir, - Ireland has taken one step farther from Berlin and one step closer to Boston. The Supreme Court judgment in the Sinnott case should not surprise anyone as it seems unlikely that the Government would have lodged the appeal if it did not think it would win.
What is depressing and perhaps ultimately also unsurprising, is that that the Government should have lodged this appeal at all.
However, this trend is part of a pattern reflected in recent Budgets, with the aim of reducing taxation, increasing individualisation and further reducing public spending. This trend is very much away from the European model, where citizens are taken care of by their country and not left to fend for themselves when in difficulties.
Mr McCreevy will be pleased, no doubt, with today's judgment and perhaps he will applaud it as another sign of our democracy. The next step, no doubt will be to revive the notion that we should think of becoming a state of the US instead of the EU. - Yours, etc.,
Francis E. Rafter, Thurles, Co Tipperary.