No action on High Court assessment of needs disability as last government ‘couldn't agree'
The last
government
did not act on a
High Court
decision three years ago on assessments of need for children with
disabilities
because 'there wasn't agreement' on it, Taoiseach
Micheál Martin
has said.
In 2022 the High Court ruled that assessments of need should take more than 30 hours, which resulted in the HSE changing its model of assessment.
More than 15,000 children have been waiting longer than six months for assessment and 25,000 are expected to be in this situation by the end of the year.
Social Democrats acting leader Cian O'Callaghan said the accelerated procedure 'was struck down for a good reason. It consisted of one hour of observed play time and a 30-minute discussion with a parent.
READ MORE
'Children were then diagnosed as having a disability but not told which disability they had. It was a completely inadequate box-ticking exercise. Are you telling us that this is a system that you're going to return to, or is your plan to get rid of assessment and need altogether?' he asked Taoiseach Micheál Martin.
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Government 'all talk but no action' on disability assessment backlog, says activist
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Mr Martin said, 'I have no intention of going back on the standing operating procedures' that applied before the High Court ruling.
But he said, 'I believe when the High Court makes a decision it is clinicians that should ultimately decide in terms of the nature and type of provision on therapy, medicine or anything.
'The last government did not follow through for different reason. There wasn't agreement in respect of it after the High Court decision.'
The Taoiseach said, 'an assessment of evaluation is not a static thing, nor should it be. As a child develops, the child needs ongoing review' and the Government had decided to have a national 'in-school therapy service', a 'red-line' issue for this Government.
Mr O'Callaghan said 'that is an astonishing answer'.
'When 15,000 children are waiting for needs assessments 'you haven't got your act together in this because the previous government couldn't agree on what to do'.
Mr O'Callaghan said: 'You've been talking around changing the law, hiring more people. But when are you actually going to stop breaking the law?'
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Government to change law in bid to speed up autism and disability assessments
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Accusing Mr O'Callaghan of 'deliberate distortion', the Taoiseach said this Government will deal with the court decision but the previous government had dealt with a lot of other related issues, including a 30 per cent increase in assessments in 2023 and a 65 per cent increase in the first three months of this year compared to last.
Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald said the Taoiseach had met Cara Darmody on Wednesday morning and 'you gave no commitments'.
Mr Martin confirmed he met the teenager on Wednesday morning and 'we discussed all the issues involved and I outlined what the Government is going to do'.
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Irish Times
43 minutes ago
- Irish Times
Former Arts Council director Maureen Kennelly: ‘The Minister saw the opportunity for a scalp. I was an easy target'
THE BOTCHED IT PROJECT 'None of us set out with the intention of this happening. It is deeply regrettable. There's been lots of indignation and outrage about this, but I wouldn't want that to obscure the fact that the arts sector is populated with people – and the Arts Council as well – who are highly dedicated, very responsible and committed to delivering value for money for the public.' This is the view of Maureen Kennelly , who left her role as director of the Arts Council this month, and is speaking about the organisation's disastrous IT project, which ended with a multimillion-euro write-off and no software system to show for it. The idea was to bring together five existing systems, including those dealing with grants. The original budget for the project was €2.97 million, for delivery in 2021. That rose to €6.5 million by the time the plug was pulled, in June 2024. The net loss was €5.3 million. The Department of Culture, which oversees the council, has acknowledged its mistakes since details of the fiasco emerged in February, but the repercussions are being felt mainly at the council, where Kennelly has been jettisoned after a single term. Patrick O'Donovan , who took over as Minister for Culture from Catherine Martin in January, vetoed a unanimous board decision to renew Kennelly's contract. READ MORE Entrance: Patrick O'Donovan became Minister for Culture in January. Photograph: Sam Boal/Collins 'From the outset of all this, in early February, the Minister's reaction to the write-off of spending on the IT system set the tone for wider media commentary and political response,' Kennelly says. 'The board of the Arts Council was fully satisfied with my role in the project and made the recommendation to the Minister to renew me for a further five-year term. 'They were confident that the Niamh Brennan review' – of the council's governance and culture, which O'Donovan commissioned in February and is expected this autumn – 'would accurately describe the development of the project and my role in it, trying to rescue it. It is important for me to say that I inherited this project. The project had started well before my time, and it was conceived and initiated on a very shaky foundation. 'I led the bid to rescue it to the point where it was ultimately decided by the board, in conjunction with me, to stop the project in favour of an option which would be cheaper in the long run' – an off-the-shelf rather than custom system. 'Unfortunately, the Minister decided not to wait for the outcome of the Niamh Brennan review. He judged me before those findings are available and against the clear advice of the Arts Council board. His actions have served to discredit the Arts Council and, in particular, my reputation. It is clear to me that he saw the opportunity for a scalp and I was a very easy target.' The IT project had 'troubled origins', she says, because 'the senior expertise simply was never there to deliver it, and the oversight from the department and the OGCIO' – Office of the Government Chief Information Officer – 'was never in place'. 'This was one outlying project which failed, there's no doubt. But it absolutely should not overshadow all the work the Arts Council does. And the Arts Council is by no means alone in enduring difficulties with such a project.' Kennelly chose to remain at the organisation until the conclusion of two Oireachtas committee hearings into the debacle – 'I thought it was very important for the Arts Council to be accountable' – and left two days later, on Friday, June 13th. One of the hearings was of the joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport, where the Sinn Féin TD Joanna Byrne described Kennelly as having been 'thrown under the bus by the Minister'. THE BACKGROUND In 2018-19, with the council's core computer system on its last legs, the organisation's previous director initiated a huge 'business transformation project' with the approval of the Department of Culture. The IT project was complex, seeking to merge grant-management and financial systems, among others. As Ireland's national Government agency for funding, developing and promoting the arts, it has a large brief and hundreds of clients, from big organisations to individual artists. It was clear at the committee hearings that neither the council nor the department had the senior IT wherewithal to adequately manage or assess this, and relied on external contractors and project managers, where frequent staff changes added to the problem. The project ran behind from early on; specifications were altered after the business case was made. Issues and delays over the system's analysis, design and development had knock-on effects for timelines and budget. Covid happened. As the IT project progressed, Kennelly sought departmental approval several times to hire a senior in-house information-technology specialist. The department said it could not approve recruiting at the proposed level of Civil Service principal officer (current salary range: €105,000-€130,000). Two senior IT professionals were eventually hired in April-May 2024, at the assistant-principal-higher grade (€88,500-€110,500). 'Unfortunately it came too late in the day. We had halted the project at that stage,' Kennelly says. With hindsight it would doubtless have been better to stop sooner. 'They were torturous decisions along the way,' Kennelly says. 'Because your desire is to protect the initial investment. The last thing you want is to be writing off significant funds. I know from my own very deep past in the arts sector how precious those monies are.' Blinder: Maureen Kennelly with Catherine Martin in 2022, when the TD was minister for culture. Photograph: Maxwell's She was appointed at the height of the pandemic, a period when the arts sector was battling for survival. The council, which Kennelly led with its chairman, Kevin Rafter, and the department, led by Catherine Martin, as minister, and Katherine Licken, its secretary general at the time, are regarded as having played a blinder, securing extra funding to keep the arts afloat through lockdown. Last year the council's programmes, partnerships and grant aid supported 588 organisations and 2,000 individuals, 140 festivals, 318 schools and 31 local authorities. After years of underfunding, the council's annual budget increased by 75 per cent between 2020 and 2024, to €140 million, effectively holding on to Covid-response increases. Its remit expanded, grant applications rose from 3,000 to 8,666, and the council funded more individuals and organisations. All that takes more work; the department says that its approved staffing level for the council increased from 47 in 2018 to 146 in 2024. Ticking away in the background was this complex, ballooning IT project. It has all been detailed in the report of the department's internal examination , in media reports and at the Oireachtas hearings: the Public Accounts Committee on May 29th and Culture Committee on June 11th. And in parallel with Brennan's report, the department is reviewing its own governance and oversight. As the project's expected delivery approached – a year late, in September 2022 – multiple bugs were discovered. This was substandard work, Kennelly told the Public Accounts Committee. 'The really serious nature of the situation was clear to me,' she says. The council went into dispute with contractors, and Kennelly restructured the project, changing internal personnel and stopping payments to contractors. 'With hindsight, I'm not sure any other CEO would have done any differently, to be honest.' She continued to 'really earnestly' appeal for sanction for a senior IT person. THE ACCOUNTING Before the Oireachtas committees, Kennelly and Feargal Ó Coigligh , Licken's successor as secretary general, sought to be 'completely transparent in relation to our failings'. A key factor that emerged at the Culture Committee is that although the council kept the department informed, the problems that developed appear not to have been escalated within the department, up to the secretary general or the minister, until late June 2024. 'It was surprising to me that it wasn't being conveyed upwards,' Kennelly says. 'We weren't keeping a single thing hidden from the department.' Asked in committee how much correspondence she had with the department about the project, she estimated 'about 60 pieces of written communication' – a number Ó Coigligh initially questioned at the Culture Committee but then accepted. At committee, he also acknowledged departmental failure. 'We should have stepped in much earlier when it became clear this project had run into serious difficulty.' Twenty-one external expert contractors have been paid; 75 per cent of the costs relate to four companies. The council has started legal proceedings against two of them (Codec, one of the contractors involved, strongly rejects claims its work was substandard) and is in pre-action with two others. The legal action has cost €60,000 so far, but the department has now frozen spending, pending recently sought feedback from the Attorney General's office. 'I hope the Minister's decision to pause spending on it will not squander a good opportunity to recover monies on behalf of the public,' Kennelly says. 'It wasn't, 'Let's just lash loads of money at the lawyers and get this fixed.' It was being constructed extremely carefully.' 'Furious': Patrick O'Donovan and Simon Harris. Photograph: Brian Lawless/PA Wire O'Donovan was 'desperately angry' when he was told about the €5.3 million write-off, and immediately took it to the Cabinet; there was, perhaps, the slight air of a new sheriff wanting to clean up Dodge. Coming on foot of other sagas involving wasted public money, fury erupted . Minister for Public Expenditure Jack Chambers decried 'a massive waste of money'. Tánaiste Simon Harris was 'furious'. (Then, this month, O'Donovan was admonished for bringing 'substantial expenditure' issues, including the Arts Council, to Cabinet 'under the arm', without telling colleagues in advance.) When the Minister declined to renew Kennelly's contract, the council instead proposed deferring a decision until after Brennan's report. The department's only offer was a 'final contract' of up to nine months or 'until a new director is appointed, whichever is sooner'. It was 'highly conditioned', Kennelly says. 'I think any self-respecting senior executive would have thought twice about it.' She declined. 'It's just disappointing that my only encounter with the Minister was about this, and that he appears to have rushed to such hasty judgment on this outlying project when there are so many other fantastic things being delivered by the Arts Council,' Kennelly says. THE MEDIA COVERAGE The Minister told the Sunday Independent last weekend, 'I made the decision that I think is in the best interest of the Arts Council and the taxpayer.' Kennelly is 'flabbergasted by this. He made the decision against the clear advice of the Arts Council, and I would like him to explain how this decision meets the best interest of the taxpayer and the Arts Council. 'I find his statement deeply insulting and damaging to my reputation. I hope that he'll have an opportunity to explain why he made that statement at the joint Oireachtas committee' when it convenes on July 2nd. She says the council was dismayed by details in an Irish Times report in April based on information released following a Freedom of Information request. It referred to a meeting that the new Minister called with Kennelly and Maura McGrath – Rafter's successor as chair – two months earlier. O'Donovan asked if they or their predecessors had discussed the business transformation project with the previous minister or secretary general, 'to which both replied 'No'', according to minutes the department supplied. But Kennelly's own note of her full reply is, 'No, but I kept the principal officer, my designated line of contact, informed right throughout the project.' 'I was flabbergasted,' Kennelly says. 'It was an extremely selective record of the meeting. The department should never have sent minutes to The Irish Times without checking them with us first. It was an extremely unfair reflection of the whole situation.' She adds, 'It appears they may have been put out there to justify the Minister's actions.' Culture Committee: Feargal Ó Coigligh answers questions on June 11th. Photograph: Oireachtas TV Several members of the Culture Committee, including Malcolm Byrne of Fianna Fáil, repeatedly asked the secretary general whether he advised the Minister about Kennelly's contract. Ó Coigligh repeated, several times, that it was a ministerial decision, effectively refusing to answer the question. THE LESSONS 'It's a huge regret of mine' that the IT project wasn't delivered, Kennelly says, 'and that the circumstances of my contract mean I'm not there to see a new system through. I hope and I trust good decisions will be made in the future.' The lessons to be learned include ensuring appropriate internal expertise is in place, alongside departmental and OGCIO oversight. 'The Arts Council is set up to develop the arts and to support artists and organisations. It's not set up as an IT specialist ... The risks of the project weren't properly assessed from the start.' If they had been, someone would perhaps have said, 'This is a project that's doomed to fail ... You were absolutely not set up to take this on.' At the Culture Committee hearing Joanna Byrne said, 'I am of the view that there was full transparency at every stage, from 2021 right up to 2024, on the part of the Arts Council. Yet it is okay for the department to state that it failed but that nobody within it is to blame ... Thousands of artists in this country are not getting the service they desire and deserve because of the failures in the department. I do not think it cuts the mustard to state that the department failed but that nobody was held accountable.' Kennelly says now, 'It seems probable to me that someone was briefing against the Arts Council and against me, and I find that abhorrent.' Is she bitter about all that has happened? 'No. I'm disappointed. It's been a very tumultuous time. I loved the role, and have huge regard for the people in the Arts Council, and equally huge regard for people in the sector. The Arts Council's an enormously important part of Irish life. It has to be protected, and funding for the arts has to be protected. That's absolutely critical.'
Irish Times
an hour ago
- Irish Times
Telling the Truth Is Dangerous: A history of Robert Dudley Edwards
Telling the Truth Is Dangerous: How Robert Dudley Edwards Changed Irish History Forever Author : Neasa MacErlean ISBN-13 : 978-1839529177 Publisher : Tartaruga Books Guideline Price : €17.50 In the 1986 Dáil debate that led to the establishment of the National Archives of Ireland, taoiseach Garret FitzGerald singled out University College Dublin professor emeritus Robert Dudley Edwards, who, he said, 'has never ceased to press me to have this legislation enacted'. Edwards had spent more than 50 years 'planning and fighting for' the establishment of the archives, and he died on June 5th, 1988, four days after FitzGerald's National Archives Act came into force to preserve and make publicly available millions of State documents from pre- and post-independence Ireland. 'Dudley's life mission was complete,' his granddaughter writes in this densely detailed and exhaustively sourced and annotated biography. As professor of modern Irish history at UCD from 1944 to 1979 Edwards also established the UCD Archive Department (which houses the papers of Michael Collins, Éamon de Valera, William T Cosgrave, Eoin MacNeill, Kevin Barry, pre-1922 Sinn Féin and others) and he was 'the original proposer and main mover' of the Bureau of Military History, which records the reminiscences of veterans of the 1913-1923 conflicts. He also helped establish the Irish Historical Studies journal and the Irish Historical Society, forged strong links with international historians and wrote (often anonymously or pseudonymously) for the Irish Press, Sunday Press, Sunday Independent and the Leader. READ MORE The eldest son of a Co Clare-born, London-trained nurse and an English Midlands schoolmaster turned civil servant, Edwards was six years old when his parents sheltered him in their home on Dartmouth Square in Dublin, within earshot of the British assault on the 1916 rebels in the Royal College of Surgeons on St Stephen's Green. He was aged 13 when the State records in the Four Courts burned to cinders in the assault that began the Civil War on June 30th, 1922. Teetotal in early adulthood, his later alcoholism affected his family life and public behaviour. Further family sadness and dysfunction followed with eldest daughter Mary's descent into derangement, suicide attempts, involuntary hospital admissions and near-filicidal attacks on her daughter Neasa, who refers to herself in the third person throughout. This is an essential book for anybody interested in history, historiography, or independent Ireland's first century.
Irish Times
5 hours ago
- Irish Times
Letters to the Editor, June 28th: On lack of action in Brussels, doing the right thing and choice language
Sir, – Your newspaper today (June 27th) provides a stark juxtaposition as to the situation in Gaza, and the hypocrisy of the EU. Your reporters in Brussels set out the lack of action by the EU to sanction Israel for its failure to allow aid into Gaza (' Government briefs 'like-minded' EU states on Occupied Territories Bill '). We see where states who are 'sympathetic' to Israel effectively veto anything more than carefully crafted words, as being the strongest action possible. The hope being that these words will bring the Israeli government to its senses and allow aid, at appropriate levels, to be let into the enclave, and maybe a ceasefire. And as if to show the Israeli government holding two fingers to the EU, your Reuters report sets out how Israel has stopped any aid being allowed into the north of Gaza ('Israel halts aid to northern Gaza as clans deny Hamas is stealing it'). Those strong words from Brussels really hit the mark! READ MORE The hypocrisy of the EU is then laid bare with unanimity easily forthcoming in extending sanctions against Russia for their invasion and ongoing war with Ukraine. While Mr Netanyahu can strong arm those leaders who are 'sympathetic' to Israel, the EU will never take collective action against Israel. It is time for those EU states who are minded to take action against Israel, in the form of concrete sanctions, must do so unilaterally. – Yours, etc, PHILIP BRADY, Donnycarney, Dublin. Sir, – I read with interest Dr Ed Abrahamson's letter (June 26th). His analysis of Ireland's relationship with Israel in light of ongoing events in Gaza and the political discussions of the same in Ireland was revealing. I was particularly interested in his view that the 'deep freeze' he describes between Ireland and Israel may never end. He posits that the fracture in the relationship between the two countries may affect the economy and also gives an example of the welfare of patients in Irish hospitals who may be deprived of medical advances which come from Israel. It is true that the Government and many politicians have spoken out on issues in Gaza and many people in Irish society are very upset and angry about what is unfolding. For many across society, this has meant taking a stand and speaking up for what we consider to be wrong in terms of current events. Surely to be human and to have moral courage and clarity means that taking a stand on any issue should come down to moral considerations alone? The view that being seen as taking a stand against Israel's current actions might affect us in a material way is a factor to be borne in mind, is to totally miss the point and the moral clarity that taking a stand on any issue demands. Moral courage is the willingness to take a potentially costly moral action simply because it is the right thing to do. I learned this lesson very early in childhood when I was visiting Dublin with my parents and ran towards the door of Dunnes Stores on Henry Street and my father gently pulled me back and said 'We are not going in there, never cross a picket, do you hear me now ? never.' He gently explained about South Africa, apartheid and oranges and how these people were doing what was right, even though it would affect them directly in their income. I was fortunate to have such an early lesson and the clarity and admiration with which he spoke about those Dunnes Stores workers has stayed with me as a seminal memory, almost 40 years later. Taking a stand means doing the right thing even if the consequences of that stand affect you directly, the world is often transactional and full of compromise and moral cowardice. Doing the right thing means we abandon such obfuscation and speak with the same clarity and simplicity as though we are speaking to a child, explaining the difference between right and wrong and why doing the right thing matters even if it affects you directly. – Yours, etc, JACKIE GORMAN, Athlone, Co Westmeath. Sir, – Justine Mc Carthy is to be congratulated on her forensic account of how the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, has exceeded her legal mandate and undermined the role of the EU high representative and the rights and responsibilities of individual member states in relation to foreign policy ( 'What gives Ursula von der Leyen the right to egg on Binyamin Netanyahu with his killing crusades ?' June 27th). The big question is what can be done about it? A motion of censure is due to be tabled by a number of MEPs in respect of the 'Pfizergate'controversy. This concerns Ms von der Leyen's professed inability to release copies of texts between her and the Pfizer chief executive officer during the Covid crisis. There are also issues arising in relation to the alleged bypassing of the European Parliament and the increasing centralisation of power in the commission. It is now clear that the Fianna Fáil MEPs who voted against von der Leyen's reappointment were absolutely correct in their judgment. Given the Government's strong position on the recent report on Israel's violations of human rights within the EU trade deal, all our MEPs should now consider supporting this motion and help trigger a substantive and comprehensive debate in the European Parliament on this important issue. – Yours, etc, MARTIN Mc DONALD, Dublin 12. Contactless travel Sir, – Dr Mark Thompson asks why it will take so long to introduce contactless payment on public transport (Letters, June 27th). His question is, however, like the line judges in Wimbledon, redundant (' No line judges at Wimbledon: you cannot be serious ,' June 27th). We don't need contactless payment; we need a simple Berlin-style smart phone ticketing app. Once downloaded you can buy a ticket that lasts for two hours on any form of public transport. You can buy a ticket immediately before you board a bus, tram or train. You don't have to tap machines at stations, on buses or trams. Random inspection polices the time-based system. With a Berlin-style app, payment is easy and foolproof. Unlike the traditional Wimbledon fans upset by the removal of the line judges, the Berlin app does not need to replace the cumbersome existing infrastructure. Better, it does not need the addition of contactless payment which is rapidly becoming a legacy technology. – Yours, etc, SEAN KEAVNEY, Dublin 15. Sir, – Ken Buggy bemoans the delay by the National Transport Authority introducing contactless payment on public transport here (Letters, June 27th). He suggests that if Ryanair were involved it would be in place 'tomorrow' and with 'no shopping bags'. He should be careful what he wishes for; Ryanair might refuse buggys as well. – Yours, etc, PAUL MURPHY, Drumcondra, Dublin 9. Sir, – Dr Marc Thompson rightly takes the Government to task regarding the lack of contactless payment on our public transport system. He wonders why there's no joined-up strategy, and why we can't deliver 'infrastructure at a scale and speed which the citizens deserve'. There can hardly be something called 'joined-up strategy', without joined-up thinking, and, regarding what the citizens deserve, that particular horse has long bolted, and the citizens' expectations do not appear to have any purchase in the minds of those in the corridors of power. – Yours, etc, PETER DECLAN O'HALLORAN, Belturbet, Co Cavan. Remembering Mount Charles Sir, – The sad news of the death of Henry Mount Charles brought to my memory a little incident which showed his wide field of interests and concerns, In the 1990s, the issue of the closure of the Phoenix Park racecourse arose. My sister, May, was very concerned about the closure and started a campaign collecting signatures of protest. Without any contact from my sister, Mount Charles wrote to her offering any help he could give. May was surprised and very pleased to receive such unexpected support. That same day, we read the dreadful news that Mount Charles' beloved Slane Castle was on fire. So he didn't get the wished-for opportunity to record his views on the racecourse closure. A man of many streams. – Yours, etc, EILEEN LYNCH, Dublin. Aesthetics and architecture Sir, - The article (' Cost to take priority over 'aesthetics' in future State infrastructure projects ,' June 27th) could be interpreted as the Government abandoning its national policy on architecture published in 2022. 'Aesthetics' are not something nice to have but an essential component of public buildings and an easy target to blame for high costs. In fact, the architectural and special quality of the children's hospital is one of the few positives that counterbalances negativity around the high cost. The real drivers of cost are not standards and aesthetics but rather the delays in procurement and planning. Each year a ¤1 billion project is delayed adds about ¤70million to the cost and we regularly see these public projects take countless years to go from the start to commencement of construction. We don't need soviet-style grey boxes to put our sick children in. It won't solve the cost-control issue either. – Yours, etc, JOE KENNEDY, FRIAI, Co Dublin. Sir, – It is well established that the long-term consequences of ignoring aesthetics in the construction of major infrastructure, such as hospitals, include reduced usability, lower satisfaction, and higher costs in the long run. At least Jack Chambers' (Minister for Public Expenditure) false dilemma of cost versus aesthetics adds a new entry to the bingo card of construction costs in contemporary Ireland: Beauty! – Yours, etc, DR CONNELL VAUGHAN, Lecturer in Aesthetics, Technical University, Dublin. Shine on Sir – British prime minister Keir Starmer's Irish chief of staff Morgan McSweeney appears to be losing his shine (' Irish fixer under fire as welfare rebellion looms in U K,' June 27th). According to army protocols and even Collins Dictionary, 'polished shoes make its wearer look more presentable and can elevate a person's public standing'. A tin of black should do it then. – Yours, etc, MARION WALSH, Dublin 4. Capping judicial review legal costs Sir, – Recent commentary blames judicial review for delays in infrastructure and housing projects, prompting proposals to cap legal costs for successful applicants at ¤35,000 (' Government plans for €35,000 fees cap to halt High Court delays to building projects, ' June 20th and ' Failure to tackle objectors will have dire results, ' June 27th). Judicial review exists not to frustrate policy, but to meet Ireland's obligations under the Aarhus Convention which requires access to environmental justice to be 'fair, equitable, timely and not prohibitively expensive'. Given our inordinately expensive legal system, capping legal fees at €35,000 would effectively deny access to justice for many – including individuals, community groups and NGOs. Meanwhile, the State would remain free to spend unlimited sums on its own legal team. This imbalance undermines the constitutional guarantee of equality before the law and the principle of 'equality of arms' in legal proceedings. Instead of undermining this essential right, we should address the real issue: Ireland spends just 0.07 per cent of its GDP on its legal and judicial system – the lowest in Europe. Chronic underfunding, not judicial review, is the main cause of court delays. – Yours, etc, TONY LOWES, Friends of the Irish Environment, Co Cork. GAA and the Mayo board Sir, – The choice of language used by the Mayo County GAA Board in sacking its management team was disgusting. Exactly what might be expected of the owners of an English Premier League club when sacking a manager; and indeed, even then not always so. Gaelic football is an amateur sport. An amateur sport that is now garnished with the worst aspects of corporate professionalism and elitism. Major fixtures behind pay walls. Highly paid officials. Corporate boxes. Exorbitant ticket prices. All totally based on the efforts of unpaid amateur players. GAA president Jarlath Burns needs to have a chat with his full-time permanent officials. Pundits speak of managers losing the dressingroom. If GAA HQ are not careful, they may well lose a lot more than that. Mayo are a proud GAA county. An apology should issue from headquarters . And an assurance that county management teams will be treated with respect in future. An opening phrase that a manager 'has been relieved of his duties with immediate effect' undermines whatever weasel words may follow. – Yours, etc, LARRY DUNNE, Rosslare, Co Wexford. Wouldn't do a tattoo Sir, – Despite multiple back-packing trips to Thailand where guest houses often had tattoo artists in situ, despite several weekends in Amsterdam where impulsivity reigned and despite 40 plus years as a biker surrounded oftentimes by bearded brethren covered in ink, I have never felt the desire, nor the need, to get a tattoo. And now at 62, taking gravity into consideration and looking at my inked friends (bar one who is an ultra marathon runner with a lean taut physique) I am happy I didn't follow the herd. Speaking of which, is that a sheep or a cloud on your shoulder? And why does that wolf on your back look like he got implants in Turkey? – Yours, etc, LORCAN ROCHE, Dublin. Choice language Sir, – My oh my, how far the standards of The Irish Times have fallen. I am still in shock having seen the word 'arse' in one of Fidelia's Crosaire clues in this morning's paper. Where do we go from here? – Yours, etc, MJ Tomlin, Dublin.
