Are private pensions up for grabs?

Kathleen Barrington, of the Sunday Business Post Online, discusses the threat of the government raiding private pensions to fill the gaps in the Irish bank and government balance sheets.

The Constitution of Ireland protects property ownership, and citizens of the state are guaranteed that no laws will be passed to abolish property rights. Property rights can be limited by reference to the ‘common good’, so the question here is; what action could be justified in the ‘common good'?

The proposed levy on pension funds is already an attack on these rights as it is essentially a penalty on accumulated funds, rather than a tax on funds contributed afterwards. The rate of the levy, if it is introduced, will  be set at a level where a challenge would be unlikely. Remember the furore over the restriction of property-related tax incentives announced in the budget? If a levy raises the ire of the motivated, that in itself may be challenged before any consideration is given to ‘privitisation’.

Click here to view Kathleen Barrington's post.

Comments by Sonia McEntee