Sir, - So now we have yet another example of BAFF (Blatant Arrogance of Fianna Fail). Our Minister for Justice, Mr O'Donoghue, airily dismisses the use of a ministerial car for a junket to a hurling match as being rare, but perfectly acceptable. As far as this writer is concerned, we have only the Minister's say-so that this was, indeed, an isolated occurrence; and with regard to its being "his" car, think again, Minister - it is the taxpayer's car, fuelled by the taxpayer's petrol.
But the most mind-boggling aspect of this whole case is that here is a Minister, whose remit includes the reduction of the carnage on our roads today (primarily caused by excessive speed), actually stating the opinion that travelling at what was probably almost twice the safe limit for a dry single-carriageway country road was quite in order "because there was a trained Garda driver at the wheel". Minister for Justice (and, by extension, Road Safety), let me give you my view on the matter: The fact that this driver was specially trained actually makes the incident worse, not better. It brings the effectiveness of the whole Garda driver-training programme, under the control of your Department, into question, and possible disrepute.
Even assuming the latest, hastily-revised figures to be accurate, which is really giving the driver full benefit of the doubt, a vehicle travelling at 86 m.p.h. nevertheless still takes a minimum of 150 metres to stop on a dry surface. That's a dry surface, unsullied by fallen leaves, mud, or water; and 150 metres is by far too great a distance in which to halt should the unforeseen happen, no matter who is at the wheel - such as a child or animal running onto the roadway; a tractor pulling out of a field; or an oncoming car, in the process of overtaking a slower vehicle and temporarily on the wrong side of the road, its driver not expecting a Ministerial missile, travelling at 126 feet per second, to be approaching in the opposite direction.
Mr O'Donoghue's tenure as Minister for Justice has been unremarkable. From its inception, by giving the criminal fraternity its biggest laugh for decades in his redefinition of the word "zero" in the catchphrase "Zero Tolerance", to now trying to excuse what is, in my opinion, a blatant case of appallingly careless driving on the part of his Garda chauffeur, it is clear to me that his qualifications for the post of Minister for Justice (and, by extension, Road Safety) are sadly lacking.
Mr Minister, I think it is time for you to take a holiday - a permanent one. - Yours, etc.,
D.K. Henderson, Castle Avenue, Clontarf, Dublin 3.