One of the puzzling features of Irish democracy is the way it enables the dishonest to flourish at the expense of law-abiding citizens. This happens at every level of society and is facilitated by politicians, public officials and the courts, often under the guise of compassion.

There were two examples of this tendency in recent days. One was highlighted by the head of claims at the State’s largest public sector insurer, Michael Whelehan, who bemoaned the fact said that the system’s acceptance of insurance fraud was encouraging increased incidents of exaggerated claims and providing “an income supplement to the morally challenged”.