Sir, – The success of a country can be measured by how its marginalised are treated.
Government figures for March showed there were 17,517 homeless – 11,946 adults and 5,571 children.
The life expectancy in parts of Dublin’s north-inner city is just 61. (“Former WHO director ‘blown away’ by low life expectancy in inner-city Dublin,″ May 15th).
There are approximately 500,000 family carers in Ireland doing about 19 million unpaid hours per year, leading to an annual saving to the State of €20 billion. These carers can receive a heavily means-tested allowance that is generally accepted as inadequate.
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Our country’s reliance on oil has added fuel to inflation and there is no sign of prices returning to normal in the short term. Following the fuel protests, Fintan O’Toole in this newspaper, noted that the Government would appear to respond to those with the ability to shout loudest.
Maybe if the homeless, residents of Dublin’s north-inner city and family carers were able to protest by driving Massey Fergusons on our nation’s busy streets they would have a stronger bargaining position.
How successful is Ireland now? – Yours, etc,
SEÁN Ó TREASAIGH,
Teach Mealóg,
Baile Átha Cliath 6W.
