Sir, - In the dear, dead days beyond recall in Holy Ireland there was a criminal offence named perjury which was deemed to bring ignominy upon its perpetrators.
In Tribunal Age Ireland, we see public representatives, prominent businessmen and others exhibiting severe memory lapses followed by incredible recall, having duly reflected overnight on some caustic advice from the chair. Vincent Browne touched on this in his column of October 3rd but, as a legal eagle himself, I expected that he would enlighten us on the subject rather than posing questions. In the public interest, perhaps one of your own legal team would clarify the position.
Assuming that perjury remains a criminal offence, how does one explain the lack of prosecutions? It cannot be for lack of offenders. In the UK recently we saw Jeffrey Archer convicted on this among other charges.
When did the last prosecution for perjury occur in Ireland and what was the penalty on conviction?
In Northern Ireland, sadly, the term "acceptable level of violence" has become common parlance. Has its counterpart in the Republic become "an acceptable level of lying"? - Yours, etc.,
J.P. McCann, Mapas Avenue, Dalkey.