Sir, - In her letter (April 14th), Jackie Hynes, press officer of the Department of Education and Science again attempts to whitewash the Government's attack on Jamie Sinnott's right to education. However, the arguments carefully selected by the Government in their appeal to the Supreme Court go a long way beyond simply "seeking clarification" of the judgment of Mr Justice Barr last October, and have very serious implications regarding the rights of all citizens, and the position of the Constitution within the State.
Inter alia, the State is seeking a ruling that would allow the report of the Constitution Review Group, frequently referred to in the Government's submission, to acquire weight of law above that of the Constitution, by the Supreme Court's acceptance of its conclusions. The State also seeks to exempt itself from the responsibility of respecting the rights of citizens, challenging it's liability for payment of damages when a citizen's constitutional rights are infringed by it. The State seeks to immune itself from judicial censure by binding and gagging the judiciary on all matters to do with the interpretation of legislation. Thus it would become impossible or pointless for a citizen to challenge the administration regarding his rights in the courts.
This case then is not only about the rights of the disadvantaged and vulnerable in society for which the Government is already demonstrating such contempt, but about the unrestrained freedom of this and future governments to ride roughshod over the constitutional rights of all citizens.
Democracy is only maintained by having checks and balances in place between the citizenry, the administration and the judiciary. The Government, already well into the process of by-passing the citizenry by slipping the "shadow-constitution" into recent legislation, is now using the Sinnott case to try and separate itself completely from the balancing arm of the judiciary.
Are we going to allow our democracy - "government by the people and for the people" - be turned so easily into "government in spite of the people and to hell with the people"? - Yours, etc.,
D. O'Callaghan, Ballincollig, Co Cork.