Sir, - I take pen in hand to support the views of P. J. McDermott (October 1st). It does seem that our present Minister for Justice is about to invest the phrase "zero tolerance" (borrowed, I believe, from Mayor Giuliani of New York) with real meaning.
Mountjoy Prison is about to be refurbished. Leaving aside the feeling of relief this news must bring to those at present confined in that ancient building, the rest of us must also rejoice. Not only will life be made more tolerable for the men now "paying their debt to society", as we like to say, but future inmates will also feel the benefit.
And surely P. J. McDermott is correct in his analysis of the reasons why this good news is being announced right now. That is, there is an expectation of an entirely new intake of prisoners, from a social category unfamiliar to our prison authorities. Nay, more than unfamiliar: almost unknown. How did Mr W. Guthrie put it? "Some rob with a six-gun, some with a fountain pen". - Yours, etc., Aidan Hayes,
St Patrick's Road, Drumcondra, Dublin 9.