Sir, - May I congratulate Fintan O'Toole on his outstanding and courageous coverage of the activities of the Department of Agriculture (March 7th and 21st). How strange that the report of such a monumental Supreme Court judgement as the Emerald Meats one was "buried" in the recesses of The Irish Times and wasn't to my knowledge, mentioned at all on the RTE news. What's going on here?
Mr O'Toole is one of a two party club (Mr Des O'Malley being the other) with the guts to question the goings on in the Department of Agriculture. The hush up of the Emerald Meats judgement puts their courage into sharper focus. The redeeming feature of being part of the Irish nation is that when all seems lost, when corruption or tyranny or whatever are flaunting their authority with brazen contempt for honesty, for the judicial system and even for democracy itself, an O'Toole or O'Malley will emerge to rouse the anger of the nation.
When all of this sordid, shameful story is told and I suspect there is much more and I believe Fintan O'Toole will tell most of it (where now our agricultural journalists?) The Irish people should rise to acclaim these two men who will have saved the honour of the country. - Yours, etc.,
PC, Pleasant Place,
Portlaoise.