Murky history of political skulduggery is behind the collapse of garda morale

SOME weeks ago I wrote about a persistent rumour that the gardaí involved in the raid on Judge Brian Curtin's home had actually checked with the relevant authorities beforehand and were told to go ahead with a flawed search warrant.

If this was the case, surely the Minister for Justice should have clarified the situation as the Garda Síochána is already in enough trouble without being further discredited by being blamed unfairly in this instance.

This is not just about the way the Government has played sordid politics with the Curtin case; it is also the way in which the gardaí as a whole seem to be left open to ridicule in order to protect somebody in higher authority.