Who is responsible?

So many of today’s pressing issues are brought together in the story of Limerick man Jason Casey and his family.

Mr Casey has eight children and wants Limerick City Council to provide him and his family with a bigger house, one bigger than the three-bedroomed council house he lives in.

The unemployed hotdog vendor has picketed Limerick City Hall for seven weeks to try to secure a larger house. He has also declared that he would like to have more children. Presumably this would mean an increase in his €520 a week welfare payments.

Mr Casey’s circumstances, like those of many others in work or otherwise, suggest that he cannot support or house his family without considerable State support yet he has declared that he hopes to have at least two more children. Inevitably this increases the expectations he and his family have of society.

At this intersection of social and personal responsibility a simple question arises — is it appropriate, in these circumstances, to have more children and is it realistic to expect the State to support them? Surely there is a limit to what an individual or a family can expect from the State and surely they should modify their behaviour to recognise that?