Disgusting abuse of lone parents
How could they possibly have deemed it balanced to allow an article that unjustly and without the support of facts demonise an entire section of our community?
Bastards, mothers of bastards, the unmotivated, the confused, the backward and the lazy! Referring to the USA as the great example of the type of society we should be emulating?
This was not an 'opinion piece' it was an opportunity to advance an extremely right-aligned political agenda at the expense of 80,000 women and their children. It is disgusting that lone parents, of which I am one, are used in this way, and indeed our children. My 11-year-old didn't know 'bastard' was a legal term for the child of a mother who was not married until now.
It is bad enough to have Mary Harney and the PDs portraying lone parents as scroungers (while conveniently ignoring the fact that both Haughey and Burke draw state pensions), but now it appears the Irish Times has decided to row in behind them.
It is nonsense to argue that the growth in numbers of lone parents is due to 'cash crop whelping'. The growth in lone parent numbers collecting social welfare payments is attributable to a host of factors including lack of education (sexual and academic), a decaying health system, the refusal by this Government to invest in affordable housing and, most importantly, poverty.
While the Celtic Tiger has made sure to look after Mr Myers and his family the same has not been the experience of the vast majority of ordinary working class people, particularly women.
During the 30-year period cited by Mr Myers the reality for women is that their situation has worsened considerably.
Official figures released last December noted that 23% of women were at risk of poverty, even after social welfare payments and pensions. This is the highest rate in the EU.
I don't know about the Irish Times editor, but I certainly find it hard to tally these facts with Mr Myers's right-wing myths. It is a profit-before-people ethos that is breaking down society and creating the kind of political polarisation highlighted in Mr Myers's column.
It is inequality that causes poverty and hardship to those already at the edges of our communities. This inequality is maintained by a political agenda such as Mr Myers's that seeks to divide and conquer.
By diverting attention on to the pennies spent on those who most need it, Mr Myers and the political agenda he represents endeavour to shield the real demons with whom he walks hand-in-hand: the 40 or so multi-millionaires in this country who pay no income tax; the banks who overcharge us by millions; the subsidies granted to the likes of Ryanair so as to bump up profits for their shareholders.
These are the real villains, alongside the Government and, of course, Mr Myers who keeps their dream alive with his right-wing propaganda machine.
Sinéad Ní Bhroin
16 Ailesbury Court
Donnybrook
Dublin 4
