Madam, - The contents of the interim report of the Morris tribunal has been well aired and dissected in the media and, no doubt, will continue to fill much air and newspaper space in the coming weeks.
In this regard there is one element of all media reporting of the Garda Síochána that is persistently inaccurate and misleading. That is the continual reference to any gardaí as "officers" whereas, in fact, an officer of An Garda Síochána is a man or woman of the rank of superintendent or higher, e.g. chief superintendent.
All other ranks are referred to as "members", be they ordinary rank-and-file members, sergeants or inspectors.
It must be galling to officers of An Garda Síochána when members appear before the courts and are referred to in the media as Garda "officers". I cannot recall any officer appearing before the courts in recent years on any charge whatsoever.
While this may seem an academic point, however, in the context of the Morris report the breakdown of discipline, as so clinically enunciated, could well be ascribed to a culture of a force run by "all chiefs and no Indians", a sure recipe for disaster which has come to pass. - Yours, etc.,
F.M. RUSSELL, Main Street, Blanchardstown, Dublin 15.