THe stench of a Banana Republic

[MichaelHennigan]

The Minister of the Interior is one of the very powerful positions in both democracies and dictatorships.

The access to confidential police files confers such a power and there's no place on earth where this power has not been abused. The excuse of "State Security" whatever the local term may be, is a very ancient one.

There is no democracy that has not had a Minister of the Interior who has not abused the office through using the position to skewer political opponents or engage in corruption or worse.

In recent decades, the US Attorney General in the Nixon Administration comes to mind as does the late Sean Doherty, who as Irish Minister for Justice had journalists phones tapped at the behest of former Taoiseach Charles Haughey.

Despite the abuse of power by Irish political office holders in recent decades, we have currently a bizarre situation where the current Minister for Justice Michael McDowell, with the support of colleagues, implies that he has the unfettered power to release information about a citizen from police files as he did last week via a parliamentary answer, if in his opinion, it relates to an issue of "State Security."

McDowell does not have to consult with Opposition Parties nor is his right subject to judicial review.

It takes little fantasy to envisage a scenario where this experienced senior lawyer, who has a public persona that is a potent cocktail of egoism and arrogance, if now in Opposition, would forensically fillet and wipe the floor with a Minister for Justice who dared make the shabby case for arbitrary power, that he has made.

McDowell, who in the past has worked as a columnist for Independent Newspapers, said today that he supplied official documents to the Irish Independent for their story on allegations that former journalist Frank Connolly, Executive Director of the Centre for Public Inquiry, had applied for a false passport.

We do have a courts system and an independent Director of Public Prosecutions but surely, the public would hardly be reassured about the use of an artbitrary power, when the Minister for Justice passes documents from a State file on an individual, to a newspaper.

Just weeks ago, the Irish State had to apologise in the courts to a member of a family that had been terrorised for more than a decade in the northwest county of Donegal, by renegade members of the Garda Síochána (Irish police).

Frank Shortt, a businessman, who was a chartered accountant, was imprisoned as a result of false claims made by the police in Donegal.

Should McDowell or any other holder of his office, have the arbitrary power to use Garda files on citizens in the manner that he has done, including passing information to particular newspapers or journalists?

The current issue has the stench of a Banana Republic about it.


Michael Hennigan

[pluralist]

I agree with a lot of what you said but there is already a thread on this.

[Maximus]

Minister for Justice under the law is a member of government given special responsibility, along with the Minister for Defence, for the security of the state and the prevention of subversion.

An Garda Siochana, established by law as the national police force, is also one of the State's security and intelligence services. It is given responsibility in this area, which is by no means confined to investigation with a view to criminal prosecution at the suit of the DPP under Article 38 of the Constitution. Their security role is also pre-emptive and preventative, not merely investigative.

It is simply wrong to imagine that the security of the state falls to be defended solely through the process of Criminal Justice, in accordance with the requirements of Article 38 (relating to due process, proof beyond reasonable doubt and judicial adjudication).

While the criminal standard of proof beyond a reasonable doubt on the basis of admissible evidence is appropriate to the trial of offenders under Article 38, that standard is not applicable to many other aspects of public and private affairs.

In particular, in matters relating to the protection of the State's security and the prevention of subversion of democracy, which sometimes involves making the public aware of underlying facts and allegations, it would be very wrong of a Minister for Justice to fail to take action or to speak out on the sole basis that the subject matter was incapable or unlikely to be established beyond reasonable doubt in the criminal justice process.

There are public as well as private rights and duties in our Constitutional order. And it is the clear duty of the holders of governmental office to balance these rights and duties and to act - sometimes pre-emptively - to protect the "authority of the state" mentioned in Article 40.6.

When there are substantial reasons to believe that a threat to the State's democracy and authority exists, it is the right and duty of a Minister for Justice to act in the interests of the State. The rights of a citizen to his or her good name must always be carefully balanced against the public's right to be protected from subversion. The "fundamental duty" of "loyalty to the state" involves Ministers and private citizens alike.

I, and other members of the Government have spoken clearly about the dangers of subversive activity and, on occasion, about subversive criminality. We have done so because it is vitally important in a democracy that every aspect of public affairs should be open to scrutiny, not just those aspects which are governmental.

The public should expect nothing less from its government.

Lets get our facts right before we declare a banana republic!

[SPN]

When there are substantial reasons to believe that a threat to the State's democracy and authority exists, it is the right and duty of a Minister for Justice to act in the interests of the State. The rights of a citizen to his or her good name must always be carefully balanced against the public's right to be protected from subversion. The "fundamental duty" of "loyalty to the state" involves Ministers and private citizens alike.

Subversion?

I think McDowell has seriously overstepped the mark on this one, and if it wasn't for the fact that this Connolly person appears to be even more hated by the rest of the media than McDowell, then he'd have been hounded out by now.

McDowell does not have the right to decide who the law applies to. He is bang out of order on this one and should get jail for it.

there is already a thread on this.

There cannot be enough threads on this! This is the Irish Constitution being cast aside by McDowell's ego.

[CJH]

This is the Irish Constitution being cast aside by McDowell's ego.

How?

[The OD]

This is the Irish Constitution being cast aside by McDowell's ego.

How?

Why dont you shut your trap and sit quietly whilst your mates overturn democracy and decency and justice?

Another partisan tool who could have an apology for murder is if was one of his 'own'.

[Ernie]

Michael Hennigan is right. This is a major Constitutional matter. Where is Fine Gael on tthe issue. Problem for the cozy club in Leinster House is."Who do we hate most" McDowell or Connolly. Unfortunately Connolly wins this one hands down

[CJH]

Why dont you shut your trap and sit quietly whilst your mates overturn democracy and decency and justice?

Another partisan tool who could have an apology for murder is if was one of his 'own'.

Are you drunk, or just retarded?

I asked a simple question, and got no answer. My mind was fairly open on this topic, but given the hysterical reaction of the shinners and fellow travellers, I'm inclined to support McDowell

[The OD]

Why dont you shut your trap and sit quietly whilst your mates overturn democracy and decency and justice?

Another partisan tool who could have an apology for murder is if was one of his 'own'.

Are you drunk, or just retarded?

I asked a simple question, and got no answer. My mind was fairly open on this topic, but given the hysterical reaction of the shinners and fellow travellers, I'm inclined to support McDowell

Better drunk or retarded than to support the ravings of a seminal fascist like McDowell - I love your reasons for supporting him - 'The Shinners' hysterical reaction. Forget due process, fairness, procedure and all those other little concepts that help keep the world turning

Tell me, would you support McDowell, no matter what just to spite the shinners? Because that is truly retarded.