Government has legal responsibility to repay every penny
This democratic principle is what distinguishes us from the autocratic tyrannies of monarchy and theocracy, and vile totalitarian ideologies of fascism and socialism.
The rule of law simply means that every individual can do whatever is not prohibited by law, but the Government can only do what the law permits it to do. An extension of this is the principle that the government can’t tax without law.
Taxes like income tax, TV licences and nursing home fees must backed up by statute, which authorises the Government to impose and collect these taxes.
If this statute doesn’t exist, or is invalid, then the Government is guilty of stealing. A person’s pension, even a State-granted pension, is their private property.
We live in a free-market liberal democracy where an individual’s right to enjoy their private property without interference from the Government is sacrosanct. However, we also recognise that sometimes the Government must expropriate property for the public good. But this expropriation must be based in law and be in return for fair compensation.
If this expropriation has no legal basis, or if the compensation is unfair, or if the public interest wasn’t served, then the Government is guilty of stealing.
Another extension of the rule of law is the principle that no law shall be retroactive. This means you can’t be punished for an act which the law at the time did not define as a crime. However, there are exceptions to this whenever crimes are decriminalised, sentences reduced or amnesties granted.
But these exceptions are only applicable to individuals. The Government can’t decriminalise its own crimes and, in doing so, free itself from its legal responsibilities.
Some argue against repaying the (nursing home) money going back 30 years, and that the statute of limitations should be used to limit repayments to the last six years.
Another extension of the rule of law is the principle of equality before the law. This means the law applies equally to everyone irrespective of their status. This principle is a reaction to the time when there was one law for the nobility and another law for the peasants.
Over the past few years, we have been appalled at other massive thefts of billions of euro - the Ansbacher, non-resident and offshore tax cheats. These people stole money from the State by not paying their taxes.
They were punished by having to repay the stolen money, and they also had to pay interest and penalties.
Some of this stealing occurred over 30 years ago, leaving many people with a bill of many multiplies of the original amount. This has led to some having to sell homes and farms to pay back their ill-gotten gains.
If the statute of limitations didn’t apply to tax cheats, why should it apply to the Government? Some argue that we shouldn’t refund the stolen pensions because using people’s pensions to pay for their care was the right thing to do all along.
Irrespective of the ideological merits or flaws of this argument, the fact is that it doesn’t matter whether it was right or wrong, it only matters whether it was legal.
Sinn Féin/IRA believes that stealing money from a bank to fund republican activities is right. But we know it is not legal because the law doesn’t allow stealing to fund political activities.
Fianna Fáil and the Progressive Democrats believe stealing money from pensioners to fund their nursing care is right. But it is not legal, because the law at the time didn’t allow stealing to fund health services.
The rule of law is a fundamental tenet of a democracy. The Government has a legal and moral responsibility to pay back every penny they stole from those pensioners.
The Government should be falling over itself in its eagerness to prove it holds itself to the same standard of behaviour it expects of us. Does the Government look eager to anyone? Or does it look more like a bunch of hypocrites?
Jason FitzHarris
Rivervalley
Swords
Co Dublin
