The Mahon Tribunal - Focus onobjectives, not costs

THE Mahon Tribunal has become one of the great fault lines of our society: you either support it or regard it as a waste of time and money.

As divisive issues go it’s joined the Emerald Premiership of Division. It’s right up there with abortion, the career of Charles Haughey and Roy Keane’s behaviour at the World Cup. There’s little — if any — middle ground, and expressing an opinion one way or another has become as much an act of faith as the expression of a rational conclusion.

It is yet another manifestation of the tragic, inherited divisions that stymie our political development. If you’re for it, it’s unlikely you’re a Fianna Fáil diehard and, sadly, the converse is equally predictable. These positions are adopted because of political allegiances rather than any objective assessments.