McDowell is attacking mechanisms which help uncover corruption

THERE are so many loose cannons rolling around the deck of the State’s ship at the moment that we will be lucky if one of them does not do some real damage one of these days.

We have been witnessing a degree of arrogance that becomes more breathtaking by the day, ever since the Cheltenham Two took off after the horses while the Dáil was undermining the Freedom of Information Act.

Bertie came down heavy on the Irish media in France, while Martin Cullen came out essentially advocating that the rights of non-smokers should be ignored and the Laffoy Commission has been torpedoed.