Judgment In Jamie Sinnott Case

Sir, - That the Government and its supporters are firmly convinced of the gullibility of the Irish public is no surprise, but…

Sir, - That the Government and its supporters are firmly convinced of the gullibility of the Irish public is no surprise, but their utterances regarding the Jamie Sinnott case show utter contempt for our intelligence.

David Andrews (Opinion, July 21st), tells us that no responsible government could have failed to appeal the High Court decision in the Sinnott case, but admits that in March he himself urged it to leave that ruling stand. Mr Andrews fails to explain, however, why he urged the Government to act "irresponsibly" in March - given he has been a deputy and a barrister since the 1960s, has served several terms as a government minister and currently practises as a senior counsel, surely he was not ignorant of the consequences of not appealing when he urged such a course of action on the Government.

The rationale put forward by Mr Andrews for the appeal: that the Government did not question the need to provide educational facilities for Mr Sinnott and other people in similar situations but had to appeal the High Court judgment to the Supreme Court for reasons of legal certainty is, particularly coming from a lawyer, hard to take.

Is Mr Andrews seriously suggesting that if Mr Sinnott had lost his case in the High Court the Government would have insisted on funding his appeal to the Supreme Court so that the law would be certain? I think not! In terms of where to go next, a referendum to enshrine a life-long right to primary education for those who need it may well be necessary in light of the fact that our politicians cannot be trusted to act responsibly in the absence of such a guarantee. - Yours, etc.,

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