Madam, - The Irish National Organisation of the Unemployed is concerned at the treatment meted out to tax evaders and others involved in planning and corruption scandals compared with the sanctions against people who have been involved in welfare fraud.
The recent annual report from the Department of Social and Family Affairs on social welfare fraud indicates that 11 people received jail terms for welfare fraud offences. The INOU does not condone social welfare fraud. However, the statistics would suggest that it's the same old story of going after the little person while fat cats get off scott free.
We hear from the tribunals of widespread corruption yet the institutions of the State seem powerless, incompetent or lacking in will to make people pay the penalty for their crimes. Nobody has been prosecuted for the Ansbacher scandal that involved millions of euro being stashed away in offshore accounts. The report is now two years old and appears to be just gathering dust. It will also be interesting to see what sanctions will be applied against the banks and other institutions that have been systematically overcharging their customers over the years.
The State seems more eager to allocate resources to pursue the much smaller sums involved in social welfare fraud. We want to see the fair and equal application of the law across all sectors in society.
There is a perception that there's one law for the rich and another law for the poor. This is symptomatic of a current malaise in Irish society where the gap between the rich and people who are less well-off is growing at an alarming rate. The former appear to be helped to amass more wealth while the less well-off are being scrutinised for every euro they obtain. - Yours, etc.,
ERIC CONROY, General Secretary, INOU, North Richmond Street, Dublin 1.