Madam, - The Minister for Justice is, at present, seemingly on an anti-alcohol crusade.
Ostensibly, his motives are for the health of the nation.
However, within the justice system itself there lurks an unhealthy phenomenon: jurors, who are compelled to overnight stays in hotels, and within whose judgment rests the fate of the accused, are each supplied with vouchers crediting them with three free drinks. The gardaí who accompany them, more often than not, then just supervise these jurors as they purchase more alcohol.
Given that the Government subsidises and permits jurors to potentially have hangovers during their deliberations on the fate of the accused, how can Mr McDowell credibly urge the nation to cut back on alcohol intake? Perhaps it's Mr McDowell who should sober up and deal with the drunkenness that lurks within the justice system itself. - Yours, etc.,
ANDREW GREANEY, Castle Avenue, Clontarf, Dublin 3.