Court in camera ruling - Order gives two fingers to democracy

IT would have been wonderful this morning of all mornings to step away from the anger that has defined the year coming to an snowy end, but yesterday’s outrageous and autocratic behaviour by our wretched Government makes that impossible.

Not content with making the Dáil a dowdy burlesque Finance Minister and senior counsel Brian Lenihan moved to turn our High Court into a star chamber yesterday where secrecy and exclusion replaced some of the fundamental truths of justice systems worthy of the name and deserving of our confidence — openness and transparency.

The Government’s first application of Draconian Credit Institutions (Stabilisation) Act was to use it to do the business of the multi-billion euro Allied Irish Banks rescue — with money we will have to repay — behind closed doors and beyond the scrutiny natural in a real democracy.