Government politicians and their various supporters in the media repeatedly tell us that Grainne Carruth, that poor, poor woman, is the mother of three children.
The suggestion seems to be that somehow mothers of three shouldn’t be pressurised to tell the truth in a tribunal, that mothers of three should be treated differently from ‘ordinary’ citizens.
It’s not clear if this special status applies to mothers of one, two, four, five etc. Perhaps there’s a grading system of accountability depending on how many children a woman has.
So, for example, a mother of two might be subject to more robust questioning than a mother of three while a mother of four could legally tell the tribunal to take a hike. A mother of ten would be allowed to do pretty much as she pleased, operate outside the law, take bribes; tell lies under oath and so on.
The ultimate, of course, would be a Fianna Fail politician who is also the mother of ten. This creature would be endowed with super powers and no restrictions, morally ethically or legally, whatsoever.
She could start wars, melt icecaps, control the planets and resurrect the (dead) PDs. Sadly, all super hero’s must have one weakness and for our Fianna Fail super-mother of ten that would have to be a version of the Cassandra Effect – Never know what truth is but always expect to be believed anyway.
Good post – of course, one would imagine that a mother of three(TM) would place her children’s need for a non-Mountjoy-residing, financially stable mother above all else.
A mother of three(TM) would of course never consider risking jail time and a hefty fine by telling a few fibs to the nice people at the tribunal – would she?
But it was also emphasised that she was a young mother. Surely that counts for something. Why should she be held accountable for her actions as if she was an independent minded adult fully in control of her functions?
This tribunal is truly a heartless beast unlike cuddly Bertie who would have done anything in his power to save the young mother her ordeal. Unfortunately, his powers are limited to a shrug of the shoulders, a bit of name calling, and a few crocodile tears.