Crippling costs of housing and childcare having knock-on effects

Childcare and early years education investment is needed if we are to be a successful country.

With regard to the article — ‘‘We are just so tired’: Parents reveal endless struggle to find and pay for childcare’ ( Irish Examiner, September 13).

Is anything ever going to change here? It is increasingly difficult or near impossible for working people to just survive, let alone have any quality of life/standard of living here.

Housing — mortgage or rents — and childcare costs in order to have the two jobs needed to afford rent/mortgage are crippling people. Costs have gone up and up, while salaries are almost stagnant.

Having a family and a roof over your head are the basic needs of human life that are now denied to so many people.

Successive governments have failed to serve the people, and are just lining the pockets of developers which has knock-on effects on people’s lives.

We pay huge amounts in tax. But nothing is working any more.

Judy Harmey

Kilmainham

State must invest in early years learning

It needs to be recognised that Ireland has never had a history of state-funded quality early years education (EYE) and care.

It is a fundamental problem, leading to an ad hoc mushrooming of mostly privately run creche (babies/toddlers) and nursery schools that are able to charge prohibitive fees.

With no choices for parents it’s a seller's market. Take that out of the equation and have state-funded and inspected EYE with well-trained and properly paid staff.

Decades of research shows EYE makes a difference for every child, particularly those who are vulnerable. No society which genuinely invests in education for all would allow this mess of a system to continue.

As usual, it is the women and children who suffer most.

Anne Ní Leachnáin

Clonee

Dublin 15

Constitutional property rights

I am writing in reference to the article, ‘Report highlights how vulnerable suffer in growing housing divide’ (Irish Examiner, online September 14).

Nothing in this report is likely to change. Ireland will still be talking about these problems in 10 years' time — as was the case 10 years ago.

As long as those who continue to squeeze as much as they can from those who have not — all with explicit government approval — nothing will change.

Might I suggest that the ‘have nots’ take to the streets and demand constitutional remedies to property rights.

Wake up before property destroys our economy (again) and does even more damage to our society.

Adam Bolger

Oceanic Avenue

Belfast

Seasick to think of America’s Cup bid

While I have no doubt the hundreds of millions necessary to secure the bid for the 2024 America’s Cup in Cork will be very palatable indeed to the well-heeled supporters and constituents of Messrs Coveney and Martin in their Cork South Central stronghold, it is likely to go down like a cup of seasick with the rest of the electorate who are struggling to make ends meet under this Government’s watch.

On the gag reflex index, I would rate it a strong nine.

Liam Power

Dundalk

Co Louth

Unfair Leaving Cert never had integrity

Why Billy Ryle puts his hand out again to be slapped beats me — ‘It’s time to restore integrity of Leaving Cert’ (Irish Examiner, Letters, September 13). He states: “It’s time to restore the integrity and international reputation of an exam that has served Ireland well since 1925.”

But has the Leaving Cert served Ireland well or has it served a minority well — ‘Ivy League’ secondary students, those having the best teachers and facilities, those who can afford grinds to supplement their education?

Is the Leaving Cert points system a “perfectly oiled machine”?

Does the privileged exam-taker who gets the highest number of points make the best doctor or teacher? Fair-minded evidence shows the Leaving Cert is not a valid, reliable, impartial, and fair psychometric instrument.

Joe Terry

Tower

Blarney

Northern Ireland is out for the count

Recent headlines stated that Ireland’s population had increased to an estimated 5.01m from a report issued in April by the Central Statistics Office. You can imagine my shock on reading this to discover we had lost approximately 1.9m people (our population is around 6.9m). No, they haven’t been kidnapped by aliens but the name of our country has, which leads to this continuing fake narrative that the 26 counties of the Republic is what constitutes the country they call Ireland.

Michael Hagan

Belfast

Co Antrim

Common sense — it’s simple, Simon

Unfortunately the Katherine Zappone ‘matter’ does not seem to be going away despite apologies, etc.

In my opinion, these problems could have been avoided if in the early stages Simon Coveney sat down with Leo Varadkar and Micheál Martin and discussed considering the appointment of a UN special envoy as proposed for Katherine Zappone.

Simon Coveney is a very experienced politician and government minister — but he appeared to be lacking in “basic common sense” in this case.

Michael A Moriarty

Rochestown

Cork

Norway could teach us a lesson

Recent controversy surrounding multiple data centres and Ireland’s creaking national grid highlights our appalling record over the last 50 years, resulting in the dysfunctional and uncertain energy situation we are exposed to today.

All one has to do is compare our national situation today with our neighbour Norway to put things in perspective.

Norway, then a poor country with a population of 5.3m, but with similar geological, maritime and weather conditions, invested heavily and intelligently in developing its oil and gas resources and today has the world’s largest national wealth fund of $1.3 trillion, equivalent to $160,000 for every Norwegian citizen. Significantly as a result, it is now investing billions in radically and successfully shifting its economy and industry to low carbon and to renewables, supplemented with its own oil and natural gas.

We could have done the same, but through a mix of gross political incompetence and short-term expediency, we mismanaged our natural resources to the extent that today, we are the proud owners of a national debt of some €250bn, equivalent to a debt of €35,000 for every citizen and will be forced for decades to come, to import our oil and gas needs.

Our current gas suppliers, Corrib and Scottish Gas, will cease production sometime well before 2030. We will then face the appalling vista of being totally reliant on Putin’s Russia and his oligarchs, or some other equally volatile undemocratic country for supplies, with unknown quality, price, source, and a huge carbon footprint.

John Leahy

Wilton Rd

Cork.