We should not be treated this way either

SO it seems that the Minister for Justice, Michael McDowell, is going to take legal action against Roscommon County Council because they’ve objected to his holiday home. He is going to tie up the expert resources of the legal system to defend his rights.

He says "nobody should be treated the way I was treated". Perfectly fine. He may well have a good case.

I've met the minister, and he struck me as being someone with high moral standards, not given to frivolity or time wasting.

But I have to ask, without any malice whatsoever, has this experience helped him understand any better what it's like for the hundreds of family members of disabled people who have been driven to take extremely tedious drawn-out legal actions against State agencies and authorities over the past several years, in order to defend their disabled relatives?

Can he imagine what it must be like for a disabled person forced to live in a mental institution many miles from home because there is no place for them in a community home in their own locality? I can sympathise with Mr McDowell's frustration and anger. Can he understand mine?

Colin Power

Cabinteely

Dublin 18