We must create new structures to replace State’s failing institutions

THE furore cumulating yesterday in the resignation of Garda Commissioner Callinan and the intensifying pressure now on the Minister for Justice, Alan Shatter, is important.

But ultimately Callinan is important for the greater issues he signifies, and the larger legacy he will ultimately play only a smaller part in.

In an era where news is instant and the consequence of controversy measured in the hours it can consume, streams of Garda controversy are forming a considerable deluge. But controversy itself is an unreliable guide to significance.