The Rossport Pipeline:

The first battle over the Mayo gas pipeline may now be over, but the war has just begun. The people of Rossport will need to be very determined if they’re going to defeat a ruthless multi-national and its backers in Leinster House. But they’ve already done us a great service, by reminding the people of Ireland that the rule of law and the rule of justice are two very different things.

When the Rossport 5 were released last month, most of the Irish media bowed to public opinion and gave them a warm reception. Even the Indo hailed the men as heroes. But as ever, Kevin Myers could be relied upon to spoil the party. Readers of the Irish Times were assured that “the central issue in this dispute is not safety nor [Ray] Burke nor the Rossport Five, but the rule of law and the authority of our courts.”

Colonel Myers wasn’t the only one concerned. Apparently the release of the five men compromises the whole system of justice in this country. If people are allowed to defy the courts and get away with it, society will collapse around our heads.

Now, the rule of law is a funny old thing. Earlier this year, the High Court ordered that a Ryanair pilot who had been suspended from duty be restored to flying duties while his case against the company proceeded. Initially, Ryanair ignored the court ruling. Shortly afterwards, the pilot sought an injunction against Ryanair’s chief executive, Michael O’Leary, seeking to have him jailed for contempt of court.

Strangely enough, the High Court was in no hurry to pack the Clongowes-educated millionaire O’Leary off to the slammer. The judge deferred his decision on the contempt hearing until the full court proceedings had gone ahead. Having been urged to settle outside court by Mr Justice Budd, the two parties soon came to an agreement. Any question of jailing Michael O’Leary was banished, and there was much rejoicing. A cynic might believe that double standards are at work in our legal system…

It’s also interesting to consider the fate of people who deprive the State of money. So far, the Revenue Commissioners have recovered at least €2 billion from various tax evasion schemes. In the period between April and June of this year alone, they dug up €135 million. Social welfare fraud, on the other hand, costs the State very little - €1.1 million in the whole of 2004.

You might think that the authorities would give priority to the vastly greater loss represented by tax evasion, and crack down hard on those who persist. But in 2004, there was one solitary conviction for tax evasion. It led to a three-month prison sentence, but the guilty party never went to jail – his sentence was suspended and replaced by community service.

In the same period of time, 259 cases were brought in relation to social welfare fraud, and 38 people were sent to jail. Three months’ of tax evasion can cost the State a hundred times more revenue than a whole year of welfare fraud. But there are forty times as many convictions for welfare fraud as for tax evasion. It doesn’t make any sense does it?

That is, unless we discard a few illusions about our society. The Irish State does not treat all its citizens equally. It discriminates against working-class people and favours the wealthy. It heeds some voices far more than others. 150,000 people can march against the Iraq war, but the government is happy to ignore them. Yet a few murmurings from the business elite will lead to a policy change very quickly.

This brings us back to the Rossport 5. They may have challenged the rule of law. But whose law? Laws are made by the Oireachtas. It’d be nice to think that every citizen has the opportunity to influence the members of that noble institution. Sadly, we can’t all afford a ticket into Fianna Fail’s tent at the Galway races.

Corporate funding has corrupted the Irish political system, and bred a climate where the demands of business are given priority over anything else. Shell probably didn’t need to bribe the government – ministers are so used to favouring corporate interests, it comes as second nature to them.

Once made, laws have to be enforced by the courts. It’d also be nice to believe that every citizen has the same opportunity to become a judge. But our unequal society places any number of barriers in the way.

You can’t get into a Law course without a hefty points score. Then you need ten grand to study at King’s Inns. This set-up ensures that most judges come from a comfortable background. On becoming a judge, you are then lifted into a privileged elite, with its own stuffy rituals and culture. You will also end up earning far more than the average punter.

In other words, the realities of class division make it impossible for the judiciary to represent a decent cross-section of Irish society. The jury system can sometimes provide a democratic counter-balance. But in the Rossport case, there was no jury for the men to appeal to – just a pompous judge who couldn’t bear to see uppity farmers defying the authority of his court.

As long as politicians kow-tow to corporate power and judges insulate themselves from society, it will be necessary for citizens to defy the law when it becomes a tool of injustice. The fact that most Irish people seem to understand this is a promising sign for the future.

By Daniel Finn