Council in protection racket claims: The truth must be established

Even if it’s nearly 40 years since Charlie Haughey’s “grotesque, unbelievable, bizarre and unprecedented” became the enduring definition of an era — Gubu — it is hard to think of one that better describes allegations that a Dublin City Council official might be involved in paying protection money to criminals so a building project might not be interrupted.

That the official, allegedly, told builders paying the protection money that it might be reclaimed from the council stretches even Haughey’s description of amazement.