CHANGING THE BAIL LAWS

Sir, - I feel that the PDs (Irish Times, November 15th) are way short in their estimate of 1,500 extra prison places required…

Sir, - I feel that the PDs (Irish Times, November 15th) are way short in their estimate of 1,500 extra prison places required if the new Bail laws are voted in on November 28th. If all rooster owners in the country are now in danger of losing their liberty (as in the Myra Gallagher case, where a 62 year old woman was incarcerated for 12 days for refusing to dispose of a cock), ten times that amount would be a conservative estimate. And, apparently, the Minister for Justice is "powerless to intervene in cases of contempt of court. How convenient.

Cock a doodle do, Mrs Owen - time to wake up to your moral obligations, and ensure that such a shameful episode never again sullies the court records. - Yours, etc.

Castle Avenue,

Clontarf,

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Dublin 3.