Letters to the Editor: Government gets message loud and clear

'We the people have spoken, now let’s upset the apple cart with the upcoming local and European elections, and boycott the three main parties and give someone else a chance.' Picture: Larry Cummins

In relation to the huge no votes in the referendum, do the Government parties and opposition parties, all whom advocated yes votes, recognise at all how out of touch they are from the electorate?

My wife and I conceived in late 2019, then covid and lockdowns happened. All of the scheduled ante-natal classes were cancelled, a source of distress for my wife who was expecting her first child and needed support and advice. I was excluded from going to appointments and had to wait outside in the car while my wife was alone in the hospital. There were complications during the pregnancy. I wasn’t allowed to visit my wife when she was hospitalised, even when it looked like there was a miscarriage.

Our son was thankfully born in mid 2020, but again I wasn’t allowed to visit or comfort my wife after he was born, until I was permitted to meet her at the entrance when they were allowed go home. Those days were stressful, lonely, and difficult for my wife. The nursing staff were distant and unhelpful and nobody understood that without the ante-natal classes my wife was unsure what to do.

We’d moved to a small town just before our son was born, it took several months to find a house to rent within our range of affordability, only moving in a month before the birth. We have been unable to find a GP in the locality or surrounding towns who will take us on as patients, including searching up to 30km from our rented accommodation.

When it came to finding nappies, milk, baby clothes, etc., we encountered repeated problems sourcing what should be basic supplies. Several times I travelled to another town to find what was needed, having had no luck in the four major retailers in the town where we live, which were constantly out of stock.

My wife is from another EU state and has no family available to help, so we have had to do everything ourselves. Having lived and worked in Ireland for 14 years before getting pregnant, when my wife sought social welfare support she was laughed at because of my job.

Where a woman’s entitlements are not assessed on her own contributions but rather assessed based on her husband or partner’s income, this is a sexist and archaic policy.

When it came time for pre-school we again encountered difficulties finding a place for our son in the town where we rent or in surrounding towns and villages.

The feedback was that premises are closing due to overhead costs, staff are leaving to pursue other careers, and there were too many children seeking a limited number of places.

A State that supports mothers and carers is needed. The proposed amendments would have done nothing to fix our situation, nor for other families of any definition, or carers of any nature. The proposed amendments were fluff, a pathetic attempt to win favour which has backfired massively, and if enacted would have eroded rights and entitlements even further.

My income should be enough to support us, would have been enough up to 2019. At times our outgoings have been 50% more than I earn in a month, meaning no eating out, no trips to the pub, no visiting friends or family, no holidays, just paying rent, bills, and groceries. This is the truth for a family that, on paper, earns over the average wage.

We the people have spoken, now let’s upset the apple cart with the upcoming local and European elections, and boycott the three main parties and give someone else a chance.

Sé O’Ceallaigh, Contae Liatroma

Let’s get Trump back into office

Donald Trump is the candidate of all those who crave a return to sanity in world affairs; who see the the out-of-control Biden regime as leading the world closer and closer to Armageddon with its unquestioning loyalty to state terrorism against the women and children of Palestine and the hopeless propping up of Zelenskyy in Ukraine.

Plus, the departure of Victoria Nuland, who is retiring as under secretary of state for political affairs, is a hopeful sign that the neo-con hegemony is coming to an end in Washington and that more realistic and sane actors will return with Trump’s second term as president, to resume the admirable policy as practised in his first term, of withdrawing America from forever wars across the world.

As it stands, it is impossible to see an ailing and incoherent Biden prevailing in the four or five swing states that make the difference in choosing the next US leader. Plus Trump is well ahead in all predictive opinion polls.

Maurice O’Callaghan, Stillorgan, Co Dublin

Lebanon atrocity

Regarding Howard Hutchins letter of March 7 (‘UN both impotent and anti-Israel’), the UN may, occasionally, be impotent but anti Israel? I could not agree.

Contrary to its own resolution, 242, the UN Security Council, largely prompted by the United States, authorised Israel to invade the sovereign state of Lebanon, which was carried out on 6 June 1982, and by so doing the UN ordered its 6,000-strong multinational peacekeeping force to stand back and allow the Israelis free rein.

I was a member of that fine force, and it was the saddest day of my military life.

The massacre of hundreds of unprotected women and children in the refugee camps of Sabra and Shantila, south of Beirut, the following September was as a direct result of this invasion, the massacres carried out by the Christian Phalange, facilitated by the Israeli Forces in Beirut.

The League of Nations rightly facilitated the provision of lands for Israel’s own place in the Middle East after the Second World War.

It is an interesting exercise to compare that landmass provided to Israel with the current territories occupied by Israel. Most of these occupied lands were mainly Palestinian historically.

The suggestion from Mr Hutchins that the UN cannot keep the peace in locations where they are stationed is a pretty sweeping and disingenuous statement, and flies in the face of evidence, and those who gave their lives in the cause of peace.

The world must care for the millions of Gazans, spending and ending their lives locked in a refugee camp. Not good enough, Israel. It’s time to share the territories.

Ray Cawley, Douglas, Cork

Islam and women

In the wake of the referendum and Mother’s Day, I would like to shed light on the misconceptions surrounding Islam’s treatment of women. Contrary to prevailing stereotypes, Islam champions gender equality and holds mothers in the highest regard. Islam is a beautiful religion that has established the honour and rights of women.

The Prophet of Islam, Muhammad, emphasised the unparalleled status of mothers, stating: “Paradise lies at the feet of mothers.”

Furthermore, the Caliph of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, Mirza Masroor Ahmad, is a champion of women’s rights. He continually emphasises the empowerment of women in all spheres of life, saying: “Let it be crystal clear that in no respect is a woman’s status less than that of a man.” Emphasising the responsibility of mothers, he said to his community: “Remember the key for any nation to thrive and progress lies in the hands of mothers of that nation.”

Let us challenge misconceptions and honour the true teachings of Islam by acknowledging the equality and reverence accorded to women.

In the light of Mother’s Day and Ireland’s votes on constitutional changes concerning family structure and “the role of women”, it’s timely to highlight how my religion, Islam, has long championed women’s empowerment and established their rights centuries before many developed nations, contrary to prevailing perceptions.

Nudrat Jahan, Bettystown, Meath

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