Madam, - It was with both great relief and some interest that I read the piece by the learned Justice Paul Carney concerning the role of prison and sentencing in addressing serious crime (Opinion & analysis, December 21st).
The evident fact is that the deprivation of liberty is the greatest weapon the state has in its arsenal in punishing serious crime and protecting the public. Justice Carney rightly points to the evident fact that some criminals are sentenced for reasons based on who they are rather than what they did. The reasons why crimes are committed can be as myriad and illusory as life itself and furthermore, the courts overriding principle is to ensure justice is done and seen to be done, not to the offender but to the victim.
In a country where a Government is so grossly negligent and indifferent to its fundamental responsibilities, is it any wonder that the courts, wrongly in my view, end up having to address the results of a decade of total neglect? Prisons with no space and no funds for serious rehabilitation, a thriving drugs industry, failure by the State to tackle drug addiction, under-resourced courts and failures to address young offenders - all at a time when this Fianna Fáil administration constantly reminds us "we've never had it so good". It is of no surprise that the judiciary has stepped into the vacuum left by this Government. If the Government actually did its job maybe the courts could do theirs. Let us hope that in 2007, democracy will sentence this Government to the punishment that it so undoubtedly deserves. - Yours, etc,
RONAN GUCKIAN, (Fine Gael), Stillorgan, Co Dublin.