Sir, – Having been a minister in government, I know the government, on behalf of the State, is not compelled to defend to the very end every court case taken against it.
Both a lawyer who represented clients in many court cases in past years, and as a former government minister, I also know that that the State too frequently defends the indefensible.
It does so on the basis of the advice of legal counsel, which not always proves accurate, and also on occasion because a minister or government department is unwilling to admit error, failure or lack of insight.
The proceedings soon coming before the Supreme Court so well detailed by Mary Carolan (“Court to decide on State’s obligation to fund carers”, News, March 14th) is a case in point.
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It relates to the refusal to pay the maximum carer’s allowance to a mother caring full time at home for her severely disabled son. On the factual background, common sense prescribes that the maximum sum should be paid in the very difficult family circumstances depicted in Mary Carolan’s report.
It is also clear that if existing regulations made under our social welfare legislation preclude that, existing law enables changed regulations to be made to properly address such circumstances. But instead of so doing, the Minister for Social Protection, the designated sponsor and leader of the Yes campaign on the so-called “care” amendment to the Constitution, has chosen to stand her ground.
It is a stance post-referendum that totally undermines whatever shred of credibility the Government retains for its much publicised concern for the fate of carers.
It also lacks common sense and humanity as the substantial legal costs the State, that is the taxpayers, will incur in defending the socially indefensible would provide significant carer’s assistance to the mother and family concerned over a great many years.
Of course, in entirely different circumstances, I had very personal experience of the capacity of a Fine Gael-led government to waste public money in defending the indefensible through every level of our courts.
On the case pending before the Supreme Court relating to a mother caring for a severely disabled son, the Government still has time to change course. It should do so. – Yours, etc,
ALAN SHATTER,
(Former minister for justice, equality and defence),
Dublin 16.
