Charter opt-out threat to individual rights

ANN CAHILL is right to express concern in her analysis of Ireland’s and Britain’s opt-out of the EU’s charter of fundamental rights (July 5).

However, I believe the reason for them choosing to do so has as much to do with the safeguards of individual liberty as it does with employment law.

Article 7 requires EU members to respect private and family life, something that any free and decent society should hardly need reminding of.

Unfortunately, this is not to be the case in Britain as the government there attempts to assemble a national identity register (NIR) and ID card scheme which will drive a coach and horses through protection of the individual’s right to keep his lawful business to himself.

We in Ireland are already experiencing erosion of our privacy as the Government proudly announces the advent of barrier-free tolling and the purchase of 50 automatic number plate reading cameras. In other words it is puttingtogether a system of vehicle tracking which will eventually allow it to record all movements of all motorists as they go about their daily lives. No doubt many reasonable sounding excuses can be presented for this despicable development, but once the precedent for the Government to spy on its citizens has ben set, what will follow?

Again, we can turn to Tony Blair’s and Gordon Brown’s plans for Britain where the nightmare scenario of a total audit trail of each person’s life is being arrogantly imposed against the wishes of an ever more resentful population.

British campaigners against the NIR are well aware of the conundrum arising from unhindered passage between Britain and Ireland and that this is a stumbling block to the full implementation of the NIR.

Should Ireland be persuaded to follow Britain down this route to a police state, then the conundrum is resolved, but we will find ourselves living in a country where privacy has been abolished in an attempt to induce absolute compliance with State strictures and tax demands.

Justin Roberts

Ballynagleragh

Lattin

Co Tipperary