Government – Page 9 – Public Inquiry

Economist Dan O’Brien: Thinking exclusively confined within the establishment stockade

By Anthony Sheridan

Chief economist at the Institute of International and European Affairs Dan O’Brien penned the following comment in last Sunday’s Sunday Independent.

The early days of the election campaign have been marked by the absence of auction politics.

The comment does very serious damage to Mr. O’Brien’s credibility as a serious commentator/analyst because even the most disinterested, most uninformed citizen knows that, apart from gangland crime, there has been nothing else but auction politics during, and for a considerable time prior, to the election campaign getting underway.

The curious thing about Mr. O’Brien’s thinking is that he knows there is something seriously wrong about the manner in which our country is governed but, in common with most establishment journalist/commentators, he is puzzled as to the exact cause.

In March last year I wrote an article in response to Mr. O’Brien’s puzzlement in the hope that it might trigger a different line of thought but, judging from his latest contribution, my efforts were in vain.

Mr. O’Brien’s thinking is exclusively confined within the establishment stockade that has just one message – old regime stability or new politics chaos.

The old regime consists of Fianna Fail, Fine Gael and Labour, the parties that, over the decades, honed political corruption to a fine art ultimately leading to the economic and social catastrophe of 2008.

New politics consists of a mass of independents, new parties like Renua, Social Democrats, Independent Alliance and the rise of Sinn Fein.

These individuals and parties exist and are becoming increasingly more popular and powerful as a direct result of the political corruption practiced by the old regime parties.

Their mission is as simple as it is crucial for the future of Ireland and its people- to remove the old corrupt regime from the levers of power and build, for the first time ever, a functional, truly democratic republic.

It is likely that Mr. O’Brien will dismiss my views out of hand so I will end by repeating my concluding comments regarding the political blindness of another establishment journalist, Alison O’Connor.

He fails to see that the people of Ireland do not see the economy as the most important issue, that they do not fear political instability if it means an end to political corruption, that they are no longer afraid of the state, of government, of change.

It is fascinating to observe commentators like Mr. O’Brien analyse the election and politics in general as if the dramatic and historic transition taking place in Irish politics since 2008 was not happening.

Copy to:
Dan O’Brien

Journalist Alison O’Connor: The Titanic still floats

Political corruption is the single most important issue for the people of Ireland in this election.

Political corruption is the reason the people of Ireland destroyed Fianna Fail in the last election.

The hope that political corruption would be acknowledged and dealt with is the reason Fine Gael and Labour were elected in 2011.

And yet, political corruption is the rampaging elephant in the room that is studiously ignored, not just by the main political parties, but also by the great bulk of establishment journalists.

These journalists confine themselves strictly to analysing the current fluid political landscape created by political corruption but never, ever actually mention the elephant in the room.

They write about Fianna Fail as if corruption within that party was not principally responsible for the economic and social catastrophe of 2008.

They write about Fine Gael and Labour as if these parties were not willing participants in infecting the body politic and wider society with the disease of corruption.

It’s akin to analysing and opinionating on the fallout following the sinking of the Titanic but at the same time, pretending that the ship was still afloat.

Take journalist Alison O’Connor for example. In an article in last Friday’s Irish Examiner she tells us that Fine Gael won the 2011 election because Fianna Fail mishandled the economy.

Wrong.

Fine Gael won the election on the back of a promise to change the way politics was done in Ireland. In other words, to root out the political corruption that has blighted Ireland for decades.

Ms. O’Connor, in common with all other establishment journalists, seems to be totally unaware that Ireland is going through a dramatic and historic transition whereby the people are rejecting the old corrupt regime in favour of those who want to create a genuinely democratic republic.

All such political transitions throughout history involve a degree of instability as the old regime fights to retain its corrupt power in the face of rejection by ordinary people.

As an establishment journalist Ms. O’Connor does not see the driving force that is dramatically changing the Irish political landscape. She still operates in the old regime mindset, refusing to believe that the ship is sinking.

Her concern for an election outcome that would see a hung Dail confirms her old regime mindset.

We need to reflect long and hard on that (a hung Dail) and what it would mean for a country that still has its economic stabilisers on.

She fails to see that the people of Ireland do not see the economy as the most important issue, that they do not fear political instability if it means an end to political corruption, that they are no longer afraid of the state, of government, of change.

It is fascinating to observe journalists like Ms. O’Connor analyse the election and politics in general as if the dramatic and historic transition taking place in Irish politics since 2008 was not happening.

Copy to:
Ms. O’Connor

Fergus Finlay: Living in the cave of shadows

We have betrayed one of our fellow citizens. We need to feel a sense of shame about that.

This is the opinion expressed by Fergus Finlay in an article about a woman who suffered unspeakable and degrading cruelty at the hands of the state.

On the assumption that the ‘we’ Mr. Finlay speaks of includes me I want to make my position crystal clear.

I am in no way responsible for the horrors inflicted on this woman by the state.

I strongly believe, however, that Mr. Finlay is responsible, at least to some extent, for what happened to her and that he should indeed hang his head in shame for the part he has played in her suffering.

I am in no way responsible because I have been campaigning against political/administrative corruption in Ireland since 1982 when I first realised that I lived in an intrinsically corrupt state.

If influential political operators/opinion makers like Mr. Finlay arrived at the same conclusion at the same time it is highly likely that this woman would never have suffered because she would have been living in a functional democracy where justice and accountability were an ingrained aspect of governance.

But this woman did not and does not live in a functional democracy.

She lives in a state where politicians can be filmed openly asking for bribes and not only are they not arrested and charged but are allowed to continue in office. Political corruption is to blame for this.

She lives in a country where corrupt politicians are allowed to sit in our parliament as if they were individuals of principle and integrity. Political corruption is to blame for this.

She lives in a country where politicians regularly manipulate the law to help their friends or spy on journalists and ordinary citizens to protect their own corrupt interests. Political corruption is to blame for this.

She lives in a country where bankers, property developers and other powerful groups receive massive financial, political and legal support at the expense of the state and its people. Political corruption is to blame for this.

But most of all she lives in a country where the state frequently intervenes, sometimes illegally, to protect the powerful and the corrupt. Political corruption is to blame for this.

Mr. Finlay is, of course, in no way corrupt himself. Indeed, he is a man of passionate anger when it comes to the many injustices that are frequently exposed in our state. But in addition to anger Mr. Finlay frequently expresses puzzlement about the endless stream of corruption that has blighted our country since independence.

Here’s why he is puzzled.

Mr. Finlay lives in Plato’s cave of shadows. He firmly believes that the mainstream political parties are real. Trapped within his cave he does not see that they are merely shadows masquerading as democratic entities.

He does not see that Ireland, unique among Western democracies, is ruled by a single political class made up principally of Fianna Fail, Fine Gael and Labour. He does not see that these fake entities play a game of election musical chairs as each in turn, or together in coalition, plunder the nation’s resources.

He does not see that this corrupt political class has spread the disease of corruption throughout the land but particularly within the civil and public service where loyalty to the state and its people has been, largely, abandoned.

He does not seem to be aware that since the catastrophe of 2008 this corrupt political regime has been engaged in a life or death struggle with a significant and growing percentage of the population who have been politically radicalised and are determined to rid their country of the disease of political corruption.

Mr. Finlay does not see all this because he lives in the cave with the shadows. All he sees are shadows posing as democratic politicians, shadows that pose as law enforcement agencies, shadows that pose as accountable government departments but in reality are nothing more than obedient lapdogs to their corrupt political masters.

Blinding flashes of truth from outside the cave increasingly encroach on Mr. Finlay’s comfortable existence in the cave of shadows. His anger and puzzlement continues to grow as he witnesses the ever increasing incidence of abuse and corruption

The recent brutal treatment of Grace by the state is just one of countless cases of abuse and corruption that has triggered his anger over many, many years.

And yet, Mr. Finlay has never once stopped to take a hard look at the shadows and ask the most obvious question – are they real, have I been wasting my entire life shouting at shadows?

I have never lived in the cave of shadows. That’s why I could see I was living in an intrinsically corrupt state in 1982. That’s why I’m not to blame for the horror visited upon Grace by the state.

My anger is, and has always been, directed at the true source of Grace’s suffering, the corrupt political/administrative system that continues to inflict so much damage and suffering on the people of our state.

I’m sure Mr. Finlay will strongly disagree with my analysis but to do so with any credibility he must answer the following question.

Why is it that decade after decade after decade we witness the same horrors, the same corruption originating from the same political/administrative system without ever witnessing accountability or justice?

How many more Grace’s have to suffer unspeakable cruelty before Mr. Finlay walks out of the cave of shadows into the light of reality?

I hope it’s not too many.

Copy to:
Fergus Finlay

Niamh Horan: A chronically uninformed journalist

Irish Independent journalist Niamh Horan tells us that the heroes of 1916 would baulk at the lack of courage shown by Ireland’s leaders of today.

Be that as it may but those 1916 leaders would also baulk at the low standards of journalism operating in the Ireland of 2016.

Ms. Horan is just one of a disturbingly large number of Irish journalists who are chronically uninformed, biased or captured.

In her article Ms. Horan blames global financial interests for the catastrophe visited upon Ireland and its people since 2008. That ‘invasion’ by global interests was, apparently, facilitated by cowardice on the part of Irish politicians.

Ms. Horan then tells us that the (criminal) politician Haughey would never have allowed those nasty financial invaders to damage the interests of Ireland.

I weep for Ireland and its future when I read such tripe.

Here are the facts that Ms. Horan is either ignorant of or chooses to ignore.

Global financial interests have been exploiting the markets since Adam was a boy; there is nothing new about this fact.

The success or otherwise of these global financial sharks depends on the strength of governance of any particular country.

Ireland suffered, and continues to suffer, catastrophic consequences not because global financial interests do what they do but because our political system is irreformably corrupt.

The man who did more than any other to spread the disease of corruption is none other than the man who Ms. Horan so admires, the criminal politician Haughey.

Copy to:
Ms. Horan

Stephen Collins: An enemy of my country

This is, without a shadow of doubt, the most stupid, most ignorant comment/opinion ever written by a so-called journalist in the history of our corrupt/failed state.

The notion that corruption is rife across the political system because of the dubious behaviour of a few needs to be challenged, not simply because it is wrong but because it has the capacity to further erode confidence in our democracy.

Stephen Collins is either a complete and utter moron or he is a supporter of state/political corruption. There can be no other reason for his sheer idiocy.

As a private individual it does not matter a damn what this ignorant journalist thinks but as an opinion maker in one of the most influential newspapers in the country his comments do serious damage to Ireland and its people.

For that reason I see this idiot as an enemy of my country.

Copy to:
Stephen Collins
Irish Times management

Elaine Byrne: Suffering from chronic naivety

Elaine Byrne is, allegedly, an expert on the subject of corruption. She has written a great tome on the subject that involved years of research and writing. She regularly guests on radio and television offering her expert opinion on the subject and writes regular articles in such respected newspapers as the Irish Times and Sunday Business Post.

It is therefore incredible to realise that Ms. Byrne has little or no idea of what she’s talking about. She understands and indeed is angry that corruption exists in Ireland but she has no idea whatsoever of the nature, extent or origin of the disease that is destroying our country.

Her ignorance is clearly demonstrated by the following comment in response to the latest corruption scandal as exposed by RTE.

It is a few councillors. I don’t believe that those actions are reflective of the vast majority of elected officials in Ireland who believe in public service and who believe in making Ireland better.

However, those few politicians undermine all the good work that successive government’s have done in implementing legislation because it damages public trust in the ability of public life to operate ethically.

Ms. Byrne’s claim that successive governments have implemented good anti-corruption legislation is laughable. Yes, an ocean of legislation has been introduced to, allegedly, combat corruption but it is specifically designed not to be effective. We know this because it never is.

This is no accident, it is a deliberate strategy implemented by all mainstream parties with the conscious intent of protecting the corrupt. The evidence for this is overwhelming should Ms. Byrne ever care to check it out.

That Irish anti-corruption legislation is no more than a mountain of paper gathering dust in government departments is confirmed by the news that there is very little that can be done to bring this latest nest of corrupt politicians to justice.

This proves how effective banana republic legislation is in protecting the corrupt.

In a functional democracy, well informed, objective journalists and commentators play a crucial role in educating and informing the general public of the activities of politicians and other state officials.

Influential opinion makers like Ms. Byrne, who are obviously blinded by chronic naivety or are actively supportive of corrupt regimes, do enormous damage, not only to their own credibility but also to society at large.

I suspect Ms. Byrne’s thinking, seriously flawed by chronic naivety on the issue of rampant political corruption, operates as follows:

She feels there’s something wrong with the body (politic) so she goes to the doctor for advice. The doctor tells her that the body is suffering from the very serious disease of political corruption.

If the disease is not rooted out immediately, the doctor warns, using the strongest medicine (law enforcement) available the body will be destroyed with the subsequent catastrophic consequences for every cell in the body.

Unable to face the reality of this appalling vista she retreats into the comfortable bubble of denial. When asked by family and friends (readers and listeners) how serious the condition is she replies:

Oh it’s just a few cancerous cells, the vast majority of cells in the body (politic) are fine and healthy.

On the way home I met a man who knows a man who knows a politician who said powerful new medicine (legislation) is being drafted as a matter of urgency to combat the disease, so no need to worry.

But…but…asks one of her friends anxiously, isn’t that the same man who sold you fake medicine on several previous occasions?

Yes, but this time he said he’d keep his promise.

Copy to:
Elaine Byrne

Free speech under state attack in Ireland

I do not agree with the water charges protester who called President Higgins a midget parasite.

I do, however, totally and unconditionally support the quote attributed to the French philosopher Voltaire.

I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.

Neither does the writer Salman Rushdie pull his punches on this issue.

Nobody has the right to not be offended. That right doesn’t exist in any declaration I have ever read. If you are offended it is your problem, and frankly lots of things offend lots of people.

The Irish state, probably under instructions from the current government, does not tolerate such freedom of speech.

This contempt for the universal concept of freedom of speech is most clearly demonstrated by the charging of four citizens with the allegation that they insulted the president as his convoy sped past.

Specifically, they are facing a charge of:

Using threatening, insulting or abusive language.

Let me be absolutely clear about what’s going on here:

It is nothing less than state oppression. It is an abuse of the law and manipulation of state agencies in order to inflict political punishment against those who disagree with government policy.

Another quote from Voltaire makes the point:

It is dangerous to be right when the government is wrong.

In a functional democracy every citizen should have the right to call the president or any other citizen a midget parasite. In a robust, functional democracy nobody has the right not to be offended.

In a dysfunctional democracy like Ireland, where the corrupt political/administrative system is facing a serious challenge from disaffected citizens, such freedoms are curtailed or withdrawn completely.

An almost identical incident occurred in South Africa in 2010 when a student, Chumani Maxwele, was arrested for allegedly insulting the president as his convoy sped past.

In stark contrast to the Irish incident, where the protesters were the target of almost universal media condemnation, the South African media strongly condemned the state for its abuse of free speech.

An investigation by the Centre for Constitutional Rights found that Maxwele’s rights of human dignity, security of person and freedom of expression and peaceful/unarmed demonstration had been violated.

One media commentator wrote the following:

(A concern is) that when a private citizen is arrested for ‘insulting the president’…the Government and the ANC take one step closer to assuming the comical status of the typical African tin-pot dictatorship.

Citizens of our tin-pot democracy do not enjoy the protection of a Centre for Constitutional Rights. Neither can citizens who participate in democratic, non-violent protests expect much support from a media that is overwhelmingly pro government/establishment.

A media that does not see free speech as a fundamental human right, no matter who it offends, but rather as a conditional right confined within very narrow parameters.

In a follow-up article I will analyse an Irish Times editorial on this issue which reflects a disturbing blindness within Irish media to the frequent abuse by the state of citizens rights.

Copy to:
President Higgins
Government

Fintan O’Toole: Falling for the myth that the people are to blame

Fintan O’Toole is, as always; spot on in his damning critique of how things are done in Ireland, of how our political system is incompetent and totally incapable of reforming itself.

Surprisingly, however, Mr. O’Toole is now blaming the electorate for this failure.

Until we as voters elect politicians with enough self-respect, and enough respect for us, to demand the right to do the job we pay them for…

This tendency to blame ordinary people for political incompetence and corruption is common among the media – it is also false.

For over thirty years Irish voters have been desperately struggling to bring about political change. In election after election they have clearly indicated that they want a political system that puts the country first.

Here’s a section of an open letter I wrote last March to Green Party leader Eamon Ryan on the issue.

A brief look at recent political history over the last three decades proves the point.

The people trusted the Progressive Democrats (PDs) because they promised accountability and reform in response to corruption within Fianna Fail

Ultimately, the PDs betrayed the people when they abandoned their integrity and principles in exchange for power and influence.

The people rejected the PDs for their betrayal.

Dick Spring gained the trust of the people in the run up to the 1992 election on the basis that he would deal with what he called the cancer of political corruption that was doing so much damage to Ireland and its people.

He immediately betrayed that trust when he went into coalition with the very cancer (Fianna Fail and the criminal politician Haughey) he had just condemned.

The people rejected Dick Spring for his betrayal.

In opposition, the Green Party gained the trust of the people by promising to reform politics, to challenge corruption.

Once in power however, the party abandoned the responsibilities of power/government and instead focused entirely on getting its own green agenda enacted. The party looked the other way as political corruption continued to wreak havoc on the lives of Irish citizens.

Here’s John Gormley in response to political corruption:

We’re not the moral watchdog of any political party…we look after our probity and our standards…we cannot be responsible for events that took place before our entry into government.

The people rejected the Green Party for its betrayal.

The Labour Party (again) and Fine Gael gained the trust, of a by now desperate people, in the run up to the 2011 election by promising to take immediate action to counter political corruption, by promising to urgently introduce the political reform the people have been desperately seeking for more than thirty years.

But once again the body politic betrayed the people.

The people will reject this government for its betrayal.

But, on this occasion, there is a difference in the people’s response.

They have finally rejected the system itself that has betrayed them. Our country is now in a transition period that will ultimately see the end of the old regime and the beginning of a new type of politics.

Recent polls have clearly demonstrated that the people have lost all faith in the political system as currently constituted. This fact is most clearly seen in the form of hundreds of thousands of citizens on the streets in protest against oppressive taxes.

These people are not on the streets primarily to protest against taxes, they are, effectively, in rebellion against the political/administrative system that has betrayed them for decades.

Your comment that the people must re-engage with politics is symptomatic of a political mindset that is in the process of passing into history. I would invite you to wake up and look around you.

A significant percentage of the people are in open rebellion against the political system that you represent, they have taken to the streets in rebellion, they have begun voting in their droves for Sinn Fein and independents for just one principal reason – they no longer trust you, your party or the political system that you represent.

Not since 1916 have the Irish people been so politically energised, not since 1916 have the people been so radically politicised, not since 1916 has the ruling power been so blind to what’s been happening on the streets and in the minds of the people.

Not since 1916 has the governing power been so disengaged from politics and the people.

Sadly, it has to be said, this disengagement from the true mood of the Irish people is also prevalent throughout the media.

Copy to:
Fintan O’Toole

Tom Lyons: A journalist unlikely to ask the tough questions

Tom Lyons is the business editor of the Sunday Business Post so you would think he would know more than most about what goes on in our corrupt state.

But judging from the questions he asks in a recent article regarding the ongoing Siteserv scandal it seems that Mr. Lyons is, in common with most Irish journalists, almost totally ignorant of the political corruption that lies at the heart of our failed state.

The problem with journalists like Mr. Lyons is that they fly at a very comfortable height above the deep dark sewer of political corruption. They only see the surface, they have little interest in probing the depths to see what lies beneath. They see a flat, calm surface surrounded by beautiful trees and flowers. For these journalists all is well within the world of Irish politics and business.

Of course, from time to time a blob of pus surfaces giving off an obnoxious stench. On such occasions the journalists get all excited and head for their keyboards to analyse and speculate about the origin of the stench.

But because they have little knowledge of the rot beneath the surface they end up asking silly/naive questions similar to those asked by Mr. Lyons in his article.

Lyons, seemingly puzzled and angry that the Commission of Investigation into the the former Anglo Irish Bank is on the brink of collapse asks:

Did the Attorney General provide advice? If so, what advice? if not, why on earth not?

Can the commission legally carry out its job?

Did anyone ask that question? And if so, why did they get it so wrong?

Here’s the answer which I suspect will shock Mr. Lyons.

Ireland is an intrinsically corrupt state ruled by an elite group of people who enjoy the full support of all state agencies including the civil service and Gardai. There is a corrupt nexus between the political system and practically every state agency.

This corrupt nexus facilitates and protects the interests of the corrupt ruling elite at the expense of Ireland, its people and democracy.

Over the past several decades Irish citizens have witnessed, to their utter despair, an avalanche of corruption that has destroyed everything they value.

And yet there has been no accountability whatsoever and there never will be until the current corrupt political/administrative system is removed from power and influence.

And that is unlikely to happen without informed and objective journalism leading the way.

Instead of flittering about over the sewer of corruption journalists like Mr. Lyons should be asking tough, relevant questions such as:

Why is there so much white-collar crime/corruption in Ireland?

Why do white-collar criminals almost always get away with their crimes?

Why does the State resolutely refuse to act to stamp out white-collar crime?

Why is it that the media/journalists seldom, if ever, deal with political/business corruption as a subject in and of itself rather than just responding to the latest incident of corruption?

Why is there almost always a close link between white-collar crime and the political system?

Why is Ireland governed under a cloak of Soviet style secrecy?

Why are they so many legal bars to accountability?

Why is it that Ireland, despite decades of rampant corruption, has still to establish a powerful, independent and efficient anti-corruption agency similar to those in many other countries?

Judging by Mr. Lyons’ concluding point in his article it is unlikely that he will be the journalist asking such tough questions.

The collapse of Anglo Irish Bank cost the state billions, destroyed the wealth, hopes and ambitions forever of thousands of Irish citizens and almost certainly led to many deaths by suicide.

Yet Mr. Lyons can only find room in his article to express sympathy for the former management of the rotten bank.

The management that received lotto sized salaries, the management that can rest easy in the absolute certainity that, if they did any wrong, will find comfort and protection within our corrupt political/administrative system.

Copy to:
Tom Lyons

Atheist Ireland banned while Iona Institute enjoys full access to schools

A Dublin-based Dominican girl’s secondary school has cancelled a formal invitation to Atheist Ireland chairperson Michael Nugent to speak to a group of final year students.

The comprehensive response by Atheist Ireland to the disgraceful and cowardly decision can be seen here.

This refusal to allow Atheist Ireland address students is in stark contrast to the apparent unrestricted access to students afforded to religious militants like David Quinn.

Last April Mr. Quinn, who is director and founder of the Iona Institute, a Catholic pressure group, wrote in triumph about how he lectured students regarding the alleged weaknesses of science when compared to the so-called strengths of his religion.

Here’s his opening paragraphs:

By David Quinn
April 3, 2014
Irish Catholic

The question of the origin of the universe isn’t a scientific one at all, but a philosophical and religious one, writes David Quinn

I was in a school a few days ago addressing a group of fifth and sixth years about ‘the new atheism’. There is actually very little that’s new about the new atheism because it hasn’t developed any new killer arguments in favour of atheism. The only thing that’s new about it is that it is newly in vogue thanks to best-selling writers like the scientist, Richard Dawkins.

I made a formal complaint to the Department of Education regarding Mr. Quinn’s biased and dishonest lecture.

I am reproducing the article I wrote on the issue including the correspondence between the department and me.

Is the Iona Institute guilty of intellectually abusing schoolchildren?

Posted on 17th July 2014

Last April, religious militant and director of the Iona Institute David Quinn, delivered a lecture to fifth and sixth year students falsely informing them that the origin of the universe had nothing to do with science but was strictly a matter for religion/philosophy (See full article here).

There is an abundance of scientific evidence relating to the origin of the universe. Scientific discoveries such as background radiation, inflation and the recently discovered gravitational waves are all scientific facts supporting the idea that the origin of the universe is scientific.

In stark contrast, Mr. Quinn’s claim that the origin of the universe is a philosophical and religious one has no basis in fact whatsoever.

Despite centuries of philosophical and religious debate on the question of the origin of the universe not a single fact has been produced to confirm the myriad of speculative opinions emanating from that quarter.

What is really disturbing about this incident is the fact that Mr. Quinn and the Iona Institute appear to have unrestricted access to propagate what is effectively, religious propaganda to innocent students.

It is obvious from reading Mr. Quinn’s article that his lecture had nothing to do with genuine education, that it was not designed to inform students about the pros and cons in the debate between science and religion.

In addition to the lie concerning the origin of the universe Mr. Quinn’s lecture seems to have been nothing more than a vicious attack on New Atheism and in particular on Richard Dawkins.

Mr. Quinn regularly makes such attacks across various media outlets and, while rationally obnoxious, he is entitled to hold and express those views.
But what is not acceptable and what is deeply disturbing, is the apparent freedom extended to the Iona Institute to effectively intellectually abuse innocent schoolchildren.

I made a formal complaint on the matter to the Department of Education.

The response, while entirely predictable, was nevertheless shocking.

Effectively, the Department said – Nothing to do with us, it’s the responsibility of the boards of management and the patron of each school (See below for my formal complaint, reply from Dept. of Education and my response).

This is the same irresponsible response by the Dept/Government as that taken in the Louise O’Keeffe scandal.

Ms. O’Keeffe, who had been sexually abused by a teacher as a schoolgirl in the 1970s, lost her case for justice in the Irish High and Supreme Courts but finally found justice when the decision of the Irish courts was overturned by the European Court of Human Rights.

Although disgusting in the extreme it seems that this ‘legal arrangement’ is proving very useful to politicians and civil servants as a means of abdicating any responsibility whatsoever towards protecting children from abuse whether physical, sexual or intellectual.

Copy to:
Department of Education
Iona Institute
All political parties

Formal complaint: 10 April 2014

For attention of Minister for Education Ruairi Quinn

This is a formal complaint regarding a lecture delivered by the director of the Iona Institute David Quinn to a group of fifth and sixth year students earlier this month.

Mr. Quinn wrote about his lecture in an article in the Irish Catholic newspaper of 3 April last. The title of the article, which is provided in full below, is:

The atheist’s act of faith

The question of the origin of the universe isn’t a scientific one at all, but a philosophical and religious one.

My complaint is as follows:

Mr. Quinn’s lecture is based entirely on a falsehood; namely that the origin of the universe is not a scientific one at all but rather a philosophical and religious one.

There is an abundance of scientific evidence relating to the origin of the universe. Scientific discoveries such as background radiation, inflation and the recently discovered gravitational waves are all factual events that give the lie to Mr. Quinn’s claim that the question of the origin of the universe is not scientific.

Furthermore, Mr. Quinn’s claim that the question of the origin of the universe is a philosophical and religious one has no basis in fact whatsoever.

Despite centuries of philosophical and religious debate on the question of the origin of the universe not a single fact has been produced to confirm the myriad of speculative opinions emanating from that quarter.

In effect, Mr. Quinn was permitted to encourage students to ignore established scientific facts regarding the origin of the universe and instead accept that his Christian god created the universe.

It is unacceptable and indeed disturbing that somebody with a very strong religious bias like Mr. Quinn would be granted apparent unrestricted access to students to promote a religious viewpoint based on a falsehood.

It is unacceptable and indeed disturbing that any outside influence would be permitted apparent unrestricted access to students to promote a particular view without the long established safeguards of independent/objective supervision and the right to hear an opposing argument.

According to legislation the Board of Management of schools are accountable to the patron and to the Minister. This complaint is addressed to the Minister in this context.

Yours sincerely
Anthony Sheridan

Response from Department of Education:

Dear Mr Sheridan

I refer to your letter addressed to the Minister for Education and Skills.

While this Department sets out the constitution of Boards of Management and rules of procedure it is not directly involved in the management of schools. Under the provisions of the Education Act, 1998, the Board of Management is the body charged with the direct governance of a school. The schools Board of Management is accountable to the school Patron.

Accordingly, whereas the Department provides funding and policy direction for schools, the Department does not have the power to instruct schools to follow a particular course of direction with regard to individual complaint cases.

Religious Education is one of 33 Leaving Certificate subjects available to schools. The selection of text books and classroom resources to support the implementation of the curriculum is made by schools, rather than by the Department of Education and Skills or the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment.

The Office of the Ombudsman for Children may independently investigate complaints relating to the administrative actions of a school recognised by the Department of Education and Skills, provided the complainant has firstly and fully followed the school’s complaints procedures. The key criterion for any intervention by the Ombudsman for Children is that the administrative actions of a school has, or may have, adversely affected the child. The office can be contacted at: Ombudsman for Children’s Office, Millennium House, 52-56 Great Strand Street, Dublin 1; tel. 1800 20 20 40 or (01) 865 6800 or email oco@oco.ie.

I hope the information that provided is of assistance to you.

Yours sincerely,

My response to the Department of Education

28 May 2014

To Whom It May Concern:

Your response to my formal complaint concerning a lecture delivered to fifth and six-year students by the director of the Iona Institute David Quinn is a disgrace for the following reasons.

One: Apart from issuing meaningless bureaucratic waffle, the decision to do nothing will almost certainly result in some degree of damage to innocent children.

After decades of horrific child abuse the very least we could expect of officialdom is to make some enquiries into the matter. Given the history of child abuse in Ireland it is highly likely that the Iona Institute is not the only organisation that enjoys unrestricted access to preach religious and other damaging propaganda to children.

Two: Your indifferent response is a further disturbing reflection of how unprofessional civil servants have become. Scandal after scandal, on an almost weekly basis, gives witness to this decay of professionalism right across all departments.

Three: Your response is an insult to my intelligence. It is an obvious fact that the Department of Education is intimately involved in every aspect of education across all levels. It is also a fact that if you wished, you could easily carry out an investigation into this matter.

That you chose not to thus placing children in potential danger is a disgrace on you and your profession.

Yours etc.,
Anthony Sheridan