White collar crime - One law for powerful, one law for us

THE impression that there is one law for the powerful and another for the rest of us was reinforced yesterday when a judge said he would not jail a former Fianna Fáil TD for making a false declaration to the Revenue because he had already suffered humiliation, disgrace and the loss of his political career.

Such considerations may have been brought into play in previous cases but they do not readily spring to mind. The reality is that Michael Collins, the holder of a bogus offshore account, was convicted of a serious crime. That the crime was committed so that he could take his place in the Dáil makes it all the more reprehensible. It was a betrayal of the trust his constituents placed in him and a betrayal of the traditions of integrity and decency needed to sustain a participatory democracy.

Anyone in such unfortunate circumstances would face “humiliation, disgrace and the loss of his political career” but the judge felt that the impact on Mr Collins was already sufficient to justify not imposing a custodial sentence. Though the judge’s motives may have been humane it deepens the belief that not everyone is equal before the law. In a week when the disgraced Beverly Flynn moves closer to being readmitted to Fianna Fáil, and when the Taoiseach’s descriptions of his finances change every time he is questioned again highlights the bizarre moral compass informing our mores.