Can savings be sequestered by the Government

I have Savings on deposit + Tracker Mortgage on Inv. Property. The savings will go a long way to pay off the mortgage if needed.

After Morgan Kelly in the IT today I am worried.

If the state takes my savings (has it ever been done) and offers to pay me back over 10-15 years then this loss will take away my nest egg that makes my Inv. mortgage less worrisome (in a pinch I can pay most of it off) and leaves me with a no savings and a large mortgage.

Is this Savings grab a possibility?

Why don't you simply move your savings to another Bank, different from where your mortgage is ?

Its not the bank I'm worried about as its UB/ RBS which is mostly UK Gov. owned.

The State can take the savings from any Institution in Ireland and I don't want to move the money abroad.

How can the state take savings from any institution in Ireland ?? I bank with UB and funnily enough have never had any worry concerning the security of my deposits. Maybe i'm a fool but would certainly prefer to risk the UK government over the Irish thanks.

The state can do anything and dress it up as taxation however I'd think the greatest risk is punitive taxation of savings which are locked into a fixed term. This would affect someone like an elderly relative of mine who invested in a savings bond with the EBS which is taxed on maturity. Just before the 5 years or so had passed the government raised DIRT tax rates and she lost well over a grand. She also hadn't actually made much in terms of interest compared to the sum invested.