BRADY BLAMED FOR LAW CHAOS; Poll shows public fury at Attorney General.

Byline: By PAT FLANAGAN 

THE public are blaming the Attorney General - and not the Justice Minister - for the child sex law fiasco, a new poll revealed yesterday.

Nearly half of those asked blame Rory Brady for not knowing that the crucial case which led to the release of Mr A was coming before the courts.

Forty-five per cent said he should have been in a position to warn the Government of the impending case.

But 39 per cent of those asked said Justice Minister Michael McDowell is responsible for the legal mess which could have led to the release of convicted rapists.

Another 16 per cent blamed the Supreme Court for interpreting the law in the way it did. The poll is a serious blow to the Attorney General who has set up an inquiry to find out why he was never informed about the upcoming case - a development described by Tanaiste Mary Harney as a "communications deficit".

The Attorney General is believed to be furious with his staff for not passing on the vital information.

And the survey found 75 per cent felt the Justice Minister was right to give in to public pressure and rush through new legislation to block the gap created by the Supreme Court ruling.

Staff in the Department of Justice were also informed there was a challenge to the statutory rape laws as far back as 2002 and never passed the information on to the minister.

As a result there was no legislation ready to plug the gaping hole when the Supreme Court ruled that the law was unconstitutional.

This led to the release of self-confessed child rapist Mr A who has since been arrested after the Government appealed the decision.

However, because of the huge public outcry and the demonstration outside the Dail it is understood that other ministers want to hold Mr Brady to account for his actions.

The new legislation brought in on Friday is believed to be deeply flawed and is wide open to legal challenge.

Mr McDowell has admitted that the new law was "against our better judgment".

But the minister has continued to defend himself and is blaming the opposition for spreading lies about him.

He said: "I said last week that when the dust settled and the frenzy died down I would be seen to have acted with good authority, honesty and competence. And so it turned out.

"Rarely have the people of Ireland been so systematically conned and duped by as sustained a succession of big lies."

The Taoiseach has not escaped criticism and 64 per cent of those polled felt Mr Ahern should not have traveled to a conference in the US in the middle of the crisis.

This week the Government will begin a review of child-protection legislation to see what measures can be taken to strengthen the law.

It is understood the Cabinet will meet next Thursday to discuss the issues.

[e-mail]

CAPTION(S):

UNDER FIRE: Rory Brady' MINISTER: Michael McDowell