Madam, - Vincent Browne (Opinion, May 3rd) writes that Mary Harney "targeted single mothers" in the 1997 General Election campaign. My recollection was that Mary Harney said that many young single mothers were better advised to stay at home and raise their child within the care of their family, rather than find themselves housed in an estate alone and unsupported, as is often the practice. For even raising this sacred cow Ms Harney was slaughtered by the elements of the media.
I worked for 15 years in the youth/community sector and I too became convinced that the welfare trap is one of the biggest contributors to the rise in single motherhood and the poverty that so often accompanies it. However, the experience of 1997 taught me to keep my unappreciated opinions to myself among the legions of left-leaning colleagues.
I still believe Ms Harney was broadly correct, grossly misunderstood and misrepresented, and that the evidence to support her view grows yearly. At the very least there should have been a wide-ranging debate on this hugely important issue. There never has been, and I doubt there ever will be.
As for me, I did the wise thing and got away from all the sanctimony, and I now work in tourism. Much less stress, much less cant, much less outdated orthodoxy. - Yours, etc,
GERARD KELLY, Orwell Gardens, Rathgar, Dublin 6.