Serial thugs need more prison time, not legal aid
ASSISTANT Garda Commissioner John O’Driscoll (Irish Daily Mail, Tuesday) was quoted as blaming soft sentences for encouraging burglars to repeatedly offend. I hate to have to tell you this, Mr O’Driscoll, but everybody and his dog knows that.
But that is not the only reason. Mr O’Driscoll said some lifelong burglars have been arrested more than 60 times. And here’s the rub: if you examine the court records you will find that they often get Free Legal Aid.
The scheme seems to me to be no more than a slush fund for the legal profession, and is not used for its original purpose, which was to ensure a citizen of limited means was properly defended.
The article stated that, in February this year, the DPP asked the Court of Appeal to set guidelines for sentencing burglars. In my opinion, it is not the function of the Court of Appeal to set guidelines. That is the function of the DPP, the Minister for Justice and the Dáil Justice Committee, with advice from An Garda Síochána.
The US system of justice was simplified by Bill Clinton years ago: three strikes and you are out. So if you commit three offences in you can get a life sentence for the third. It may sound a bit harsh but if you know the rules, you can only blame yourself.
I myself have long advocated that a judge should have the authority to impose a harsher sentence than that laid down by law, if the judge felt it was too lenient.
Personally, I would like to see the gardaí helping to decide the sentence and the awarding of FLA. It is time all sentences were confirmed by a committee from the Department of Justice in conjunction with the gardaí.
I will vote for any party which guarantees the safety of our citizen from thugs.
If all the above is carried out we might improve the morale of our hard-working, brave gardaí, who have been very seriously let down by successive administrations.
JOHN FAIR, Castlebar, Co. Mayo.
We can’t stand by
THE Government, in a rush to appease the British government, expelled a Russian diplomat for the alleged murder attempt (by poisoning) on a double agent and his daughter. This was based on intelligence supplied by British security agencies. This act took place on foreign soil (Britain).
The Israeli army have gunned down more than 50 Palestinians including women and children in front of world media, so will the Taoiseach Leo Varadkar now expel an Israeli diplomat in retaliation for this act of ‘shoot to kill’, which happened on foreign soil?
If we are so concerned about what happens in other countries there can be no other option.
JAMES WOODS, Gort an Choirce, Dún na nGall. ...IN response to the pro-Israeli Defence Forces writer (Letters, yesterday), just for the record the IDF were killing Palestinians on their own land from lands which is legally theirs too. These people have to live in concentration camp-like conditions with everything except the air being controlled by IDF.
JOHN WALSH, Dublin 22.
Royal blues
A LOT of the discussion about the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in England makes much of the ‘commoner’ marrying into a royal family.
Although common really means normal, in this use it tends to mean lower. Most Nobel prize winners, prime ministers, medical researchers or great scientists only have titles they earn after many years and yet they contribute so much more. DENNIS FITZGERALD,
Melbourne, Australia. ...BRENDA Power (Mail, Tuesday) states the Gateway Hotel, Inishowen, was forced to cancel a royal wedding-themed tea party due to intimidation from people claiming to be republicans.
What proof has she that those who were responsible for the cancellation were republicans or had any connection with Sinn Féin?
So many in the media will do anything to try to put people off voting Sinn Féin. J. McCOURT, Dundalk, Co. Louth.
What do YOU think?