Madam, - In the US, John Ashcroft, who lost his Senate seat to a dead man, was elevated by George Bush to attorney general. In that office, he produced the Patriot Act, which, among other assaults on civil liberties, allows the government to imprison Americans indefinitely without criminal charge or trial. Current attorney general Alberto Gonzalez considers the Geneva Convention to be "quaint", and he opines that the US Constitution and international treaties prohibiting torture do not apply to the Office of President of the United States.
In Ireland, Minister for Justice Michael McDowell unilaterally decides that due legal process is no longer a requirement before publicly labelling an Irish citizen as a threat to the State - behind questionable evidence furnished by himself and regardless of what the Constitution may say. As Ireland become more Americanised, we can only expect Mr McDowell to be donning a cowboy hat and a six-shooter before too much longer. - Yours, etc,
DENNIS DESMOND,
Dublin 8.
Madam, - I leave to others the argument over the propriety and constitutionality of Minister McDowell's action in handing part of a confidential Garda file to his drinking buddy Sam Smyth and in making allegations against Frank Connolly behind the shield of Dáil privilege.
To my mind, there is no argument: McDowell has confirmed the impression he created since he first took office, of a man whose appetites are undemocratic, authoritarian, and contemptuous of the notion of civil or legal rights.
What I find chilling is the reported reluctance of many journalists to say anything in public which might be seen as criticism of McDowell or the Government and the muted reaction of the media, including your own publication.
If McDowell's actions, and his dogged refusal to see any harm in them, have produced this reaction, then he has succeeded in destroying far more than the Centre for Public Inquiry, and has placed a dead hand on the ability of journalists to investigate and thus counter wrongdoing by State bodies or corporate entities, or to respond to oppressive behaviour by the state.
I am struck, too, by the fact that public discussion so far has not covered the possible motives for McDowell's actions and the support he has received from both Mary Harney and Bertie Ahern. Frank Connolly's investigative journalism was responsible for the establishment of at least two of our tribunals of inquiry.
Today we learn that the centre's latest project is an investigation into the €30m purchase, under McDowell's auspices, of the Thornton Hall site in north Dublin for a new prison.
As the lawyers would say, a reasonable inference may be drawn.
And a question: is there a benefactor out there who will thwart McDowell's undermining of the CPI and democracy by stepping forward with funding to replace that destroyed by the Minister's actions? - Yours, etc,
BASIL MILLER,
Eden Park,
Dún Laoghaire.
Madam, - In looking through the Courts Service Report for 2004 I noted the waiting times for cases to come before various courts can range from four to 12 months.
Can I suggest, therefore, when Michael McDowell has finished dispensing justice to Frank Connolly, that he is drafted in to deal with this backlog?
Why bother with all this tiresome paraphernalia of judges, juries and the DPP when we have our own judicial "one stop shop" ready to dispense his own brand of infallible justice at the drop of a hat? - Yours, etc,
BRIAN KENNY
Dartry,
Dublin 6.
Madam, - It is clear Michael McDowell believes that Frank Connolly was involved in a subversive plot to undermine our national security.
Mr Connolly was also the head of a powerful and well funded group dedicated to investigating matters of public interest - the Centre for Public Inquiry. If such a group were to be under any subversive influence then this would represent a clear threat to our democracy. Taken in this context the Minister's actions are utterly justified. Inaction on his behalf could have allowed our democratic institutions to be fatally undermined. It is shameful that opportunistic opposition politicians have chosen to score cheap political points rather than acknowledge this fact.
The Minister is to be congratulated. Truly he has done the State some service. - Yours, etc,
Dr RUAIRÍ HANLEY,
Mount Merrion,
Co Dublin.
Madam, - Michael McDowell's hysterical campaign against the director of the Centre for Public Inquiry seems to have become increasingly virulent as it became apparent that the Department of Justice's hasty purchase of a site for a new prison would be the subject of the centre's next report.
As a result of Government lobbying, the centre has lost its major source of finance. As I believe strongly that all governments should be subjected to independent scrutiny, I have decided to make a donation to the CPI's funds.
I call upon all those who find Mr McDowell's antics to be unacceptable to do likewise. The Minister's attack on our democracy must not be allowed to succeed. - Yours, etc,
GORDON DAVIES,
Bray,
Co Wicklow.
Madam - Are we now about to enter a "McDowell Era" where one will be able to denounce a fellow citizen as "subversive" and watch them live on televised hearings? - Yours, etc,
KEITH NOLAN,
Carrick-on-Shannon,
Co Leitrim.