Barron report reaction

Madam, - "I don't remember, therefore I am not responsible

Madam, - "I don't remember, therefore I am not responsible." That, in a nutshell, is Dr Garret FitzGerald's defence against the charge that he was a member of a government that failed to act against those suspected of the 1974 Dublin/Monaghan bombings (Opinion, December 20th).

This feeble attempt to avoid responsibility puts Dr FitzGerald in the same league as all those other politicians and businessmen who, over the years, have developed a severe case of amnesia when asked to explain their actions.

Perhaps Dr FitzGerald's famous "flawed pedigree" judgment should not apply to any particular individual but rather to a democratic system which seems incapable of enforcing real accountability. - Yours etc.,

ANTHONY SHERIDAN, Cobh, Co Cork.