McDowell has massive task to perform

The Taoiseach said yesterday that the Frank Shortt affair will be fully investigated and that those involved will be brought to justice.

A curious fact about this case has been that one of the gardaí criticised by the Court of Criminal Appeal was already suspended from the force, while his superior, who was the object of even more trenchant criticism in court, had only been moved to other duties. Why were they treated differently?

It is not just the miscarriage of justice in the Shortt case, but also the broader judicial ramifications need to be examined. There must be no question of two gardaí being scapegoated while the need for fundamental reforms are ignored.