Putting a value on work in the home

Sir, – The letter from Mary Carmody (October 10th) prompted me to flick through my comprehensive file on this topic, revealing some fascinating data.

For instance, the statement from Dr Tony Fahey of the ESRI in April 1997: “The time given by mothers to their children in the 1970s and 1980s laid the ground for the Celtic Tiger nature of the Irish economy today. Women working in the home had invested in this economic success, and were therefore entitled to benefit from it in the form of pensions in their maturity”.

Then there was the statement by the National Women’s council in 1997 that it was “happy to report receiving an undertaking from Government to begin measuring the unpaid work of women, and putting a value on it in terms of contribution to the economy”.

The ensuing silence was broken in early 2002 by Bertie Ahern who promised weekly pensions of €120 for homemakers; indeed, Mr Ahern went so far as to promise pensions for homemakers in the budget of 2002, which are obviously still pending. – Yours, etc,