Madam, - Tuesday's attack on unmarried parents and their children marks a new low in the history of your newspaper.
It did not surprise me that Kevin Myers engaged in a half-baked sociological analysis of family structure in Ireland. But to build an article around the use of the word "bastard" cannot be dismissed merely as offensive; it is pathetic.
It was not political correctness that led to the abolition of the legal concept of "illegitimate" children in l987; it was ordinary human decency and a sense of justice.
It behoves you to ensure that basic journalistic standards are adhered to in your newspaper. Use of a term such as "bastard" to describe an innocent human being should not be tolerated. - Yours, etc.,
MARGARET DROMEY,
Treoir,
National Federation of Services for Unmarried Parents and their Children,
Custom House Square,
Dublin 1.
Madam, - OPEN welcomes the current debate on lone parenthood in Ireland and appreciates that there are many differing views and opinions.
However we reject, in the strongest possible terms, the inaccurate, lazy and cruel comments made in your edition of February 8th by Kevin Myers about the children of lone parents. There are 161,538 children who live in one-parent families in Ireland and if the language used by Mr Myers about these children and their parents was used about any other group in our society, there would be national outrage.
Firstly, for the record, the concept of illegitimacy was abolished in Ireland under the 1987 Status of Children Act.
Secondly the article is full of prejudice and inaccurate statistical information. Mr Myers refers to the term "one-parent" as being deceitful; he says that one-parent means fatherless. The term is not deceitful but factual.
He chooses to ignore the census data which states that 15 per cent of one-parent families are headed by fathers.
He also ignores the fact that of the 79,296 lone parents (2002 figures) receiving the One-Parent Family Payment, 2.3 per cent were under 20 years of age. There are 130,364 lone mothers in this state, not 80,000, as stated in his article.
Finally, research in Ireland has shown that lone parents want to work outside the home but a lack of childcare and a poor welfare-to-work system has created barriers to the uptake of employment. There is no evidence to date that the State has encouraged lone parenthood.
On the contrary, according to recent European figures, one-parent families in Ireland are three-and-a-half times more likely than others to experience poverty. - Yours, etc.,
FRANCES BYRNE,
Director,
OPEN,
Greendale Centre,
Dublin 5.
Madam, - In the give and take of debate it is usual to construct a reasoned response, rebutting arguments and putting forward a case of one's own.
The only response I can muster to Kevin Myers's column of Tuesday is to reply to his question, "What is the correct term for the offspring of unmarried mothers?", with the answer, "Children".
It should go without saying that no child should ever be called "bastard", and that no woman should ever be called "mother of bastard". It is completely unacceptable that children and their mothers should be attacked by you in so hurtful a way.
You have disgraced yourselves as a newspaper, he has disgraced himself as a journalist, and you have offended and caused hurt to a very large section of our population.
Hang your heads in shame. - Yours, etc.,
Dr IAN HUGHES,
Magennis Square,
Dublin 2.
A Chara, - There are newspaper columnists who try to grapple honestly with a pressing social issue, stimulating thought on often complex issues. There are others who feed on controversy and insult, who in their own minds are "contrarians" speaking truth, though so often they actually direct their oh-so-clever barbs at the not-so-powerful members of society. Members of this latter group mistake controversy for debate and insult for insight.
Tuesday's piece from Kevin Myers is a particularly egregious example of the latter class. Not only does he use the term "bastard" - and follow it with the lines, "You didn't like the term bastard? No, I didn't think you would" - but he later talks of "cash-crop whelping". I don't think I've ever heard the verb whelp used to refer to human activity - and numerous dictionaries inform me that it is particularly associated with dogs, wolves and other carnivores.
Then, of course, there's the casual misogyny of presuming opponents to be caught in a "schoolgirl swamp".
There is undoubtedly room, as with any element of social policy, for debate - even robust debate - as to the merits of any particular approach. However the least we must expect is that those taking part in such debate demonstrate a minimum level of respect for those who will be subject to such policy, and a recognition of our shared humanity.
There are many people who could provide such useful, informed input on important topics, controversial or not, in your opinion columns. Indeed, some of your current columnists currently do so. However there is no reason why you should provide Kevin Myers with an opportunity to continue with his crass, deliberately insulting rants. - Is mise,
ANDREW Ó BAOILL,
Monivea Park,
Galway.
Madam, - The terms of abuse used by Kevin Myers for both women and children has never been acceptable. To see a journalist in The Irish Times using such terms so delightedly is shameful. Shame on Kevin Myers and shame on The Irish Times.
Surely, a line has been crossed and the newspaper must consider if abuse and misinformation dressed up in the guise of opinion are suitable for its columns. The "paper of record" is losing its way and turning into the paper of "so long as we get a response accuracy and decency be damned". When can we expect the tabloid Irish Times? - Yours, etc.,
GRAINNE HEALY,
Glasnevin,
Dublin 11.
Madam, - According to Kevin Myers, benefits to unmarried mothers are creating "a long-term time-bomb". He is also of the opinion that Islam is a time-bomb threatening the West and that Sinn Féin is a time-bomb endangering Irish democracy. It is ironic that Mr. Myers is himself a time-bomb for The Irish Times - one that has just exploded. - Yours, etc.,
ANTHONY SHERIDAN,
Cobh,
Co Cork.
Madam, - Kevin Myers's comments on single parents were utterly offensive and hurtful and do not add much to the reputation of your paper for informed journalistic comment. The simple facts that Mr Myers and Dr Walsh - and what a dreary pair of smug, middle-aged, middle-class reactionaries they are - choose to ignore are that in Ireland in 2002 more than 51 per cent of lone mothers were aged between 30 and 59 years of age, while only 2.3 per cent were under 20. This hardly accords with the sweeping, judgmental generalisations enunciated by Mr Myers who claims to be "largely talking about teenagers".
But whether lone mothers are teenagers or over 50 they must get the same sensitive support from civilised people and not be left to the "tender" mercies of the troglodytes in Irish society.
In fact, most people do not choose to become lone parents. Lone parenthood can arise through death, divorce, desertion, separation, imprisonment of a partner or through an unplanned pregnancy. Whatever the cause, it is usually a very traumatic event for both lone parent and child and these people deserve better from society rather than to have their children labelled "bastards" in a major newspaper which generally purports to be responsible and acts responsibly.
Mr Myers has a singular talent for being offensive to different groups of people in one article. Is his journalistic standard assessed editorially by the number of groups he can offend at once in the number of words allotted to him per day? Most of his comments on this subject of lone parents, like Dr Walsh's - the latter's insights based presumably on his electrical engineering background - hardly merit a second look. But this writer as a public representative does not choose to stand idly by and let the backwoodsmen have the field to themselves.
My colleague Willie Penrose TD wrote an article for your newspaper last summer on the situation of lone parents that, by any objective standard, deserves a lot more consideration and attention than the rantings of Mr Myers and Dr Walsh in concert.
Perhaps controversial articles by right-wing journalists help The Irish Times to sell newspapers. But I would be disappointed if you were prepared uncritically to let your additional sales be gained at the expense of one of the most vulnerable groups in our society. People who have read The Irish Times over the years expect better than that. - Yours, etc.,
Senator MICHAEL
McCARTHY,
Seanad Éireann,
Dublin 2.
Madam, - I take grave exception to the tone, the language and the sentiments of Kevin Myers's Irishman's Diary article on single parents.
To brand all single mothers who need social welfare support to survive as "unmotivated, confused, backward and lazy" is not only untrue and unfair, it could indeed be seen as an incitement to hatred. I represent Life Pregnancy Care Service, an organisation that supports women and men facing crisis pregnancies, and therefore have extensive experience of dealing with single parents of both gender.
These parents, of all ages (for single parenthood is not the prerogative of the young as he suggests) are anything but lazy and unmotivated. They are fathers and mothers doing their very best to raise their children in sometimes very arduous circumstances.
Mr Myers suggests that unless a parent is gainfully employed in the workforce (1) they are not working and (2) they contribute nothing to society. Has Mr Myers ever cared for a baby or a toddler in the home? Is this not work of a most important nature and a contribution not just to the well-being of the child but to society as a whole?
He seems to suggest that the welfare payments to one of the most vulnerable sections in society ought to be abandoned. Could he please spell out what he suggests in their place, and perhaps who is next in line for his attack. Old-age pensioners, maybe? After all, in Mr Myers's economy they too are past their usefulness.
In an ideal situation, of course, it would be great if all children were born into loving families with both parents loving and respecting each other. Unfortunately, for some families this is not so and one parent has to take the major responsibility of raising the children, sometimes alone, and without the financial support of the other parent. Irish society in its welfare structures recognises this and offers some financial assistance to alleviate the burden on those brave parents coping alone.
On behalf of all these lone parents, I call on you, Madam, to apologise for your decision to allow Mr Myers space to vent such venomous sentiments which are without foundation and are so insulting to these parents struggling against the odds. - Yours, etc.,
JULIA HEFFERNAN,
Life Pregnancy
Care Service,
Cork.
A Chara, - A shameful day for the paper - dedicating a space to an article which bordered on incitement of hatred of children of certain family units.
Mr Myers's column has a disturbing record of targeting vulnerable sections of our society. However, in allowing him now to focus his inaccurate wrath on children, I feel you really have stepped over the line. - Yours, etc.,
TONY KIRBY,
Carron,
Co Clare.
Madam, - As my parents made a decision not to marry (and later decided to separate) I, my sister and my two half-brothers are what Kevin Myers deems appropriate to call "bastards". Intriguingly, from his article in Tuesday's edition, I would think the word is more appropriate to describe him.
Mr Myers apparently does not understand the difference in meaning between "not politically correct" and "insulting". Perhaps The Irish Times budget could stretch to providing him with a dictionary. - Yours, etc.,
YAN BOURKE,
Dublin.
Madam, - In answer to Kevin Myers's question, "What do you call the offspring of unmarried mothers?", I think perhaps the word he is looking for is: children. - Yours, etc.,
MAUREEN NEVILE,
Glenvara Park,
Templeogue,
Dublin 16.
Madam, - I usually enjoy Kevin Myers' column and it often brightens up an otherwise dull day. Not so on Tuesday. Of course he is entitled to question State support for any marginalised and socially excluded group, but he should not base his thesis on extreme cases. The State also reviews these supports, which are a complex mix of benefits and incentives, designed ultimately to protect both mother and child from becoming caught in the poverty trap - a concept which your columnist may have difficulty understanding, despite the sums spent on his own education.
It is all about balance - balance between being funny and being gratuitously offensive, for example. Mr Myers' column is an entertainment, and he is to be complimented on his ability to be outrageous in order to focus our attention on what is often a genuine issue of abuse or oppression. He steers a risky path between poking fun and being deeply hurtful. Occasionally, he loses his balance and, like the clown on the high wire, he becomes the joke.
Let us have a good laugh and move on. He may regain his balance next time. - Yours, etc.,
JIM HOLOHAN,
Drumboe,
Stranorlar,
Co Donegal.
Madam, - Tuesday's Irishman's Diary has almost converted me to political correctness, which I have hitherto despised.
I have no problem with its very reasonable questioning of the effectiveness of current supports for fatherless families: this is a valuable function of social commentators such as the columnist.
However, it seems to have escaped Mr Myers's notice that he is talking about children when he uses the term "bastards". I have massive problems with this, because to call a child a bastard is to stigmatise him for something over which he has no control.
The term could more reasonably be applied to Mr Myers himself: he has earned it by the unchristian cruelty of his language. - Yours, etc.,
JOHN MORRIS,
Meelick,
Rosenallis,
Co Laois.
A chara, - As an unmarried father of two beautiful children, I would like to congratulate The Irish Times for printing Kevin Myers's Irishman's Diary of Tuesday. If you hadn't printed it then we would never have known how he felt about this issue. Thanks to this article we can now clearly see that Kevin Myers is a very sick man. Here's to freedom of speech. - Is mise,
Cllr LUKE 'MING' FLANAGAN,
Lower Longford,
Castlerea,
Co Roscommon.
Madam, - Shame on you for publishing such an offensive article by your journalist Mr Myers (and I use the team very loosely). Was it done for free publicity or sensationalism? If so, The Irish Times has achieved its objective.
I am the mother of two children, whom Mr Myers would term bastards. They are two citizens of our country who are entitled to the same respect, rights and protection as anyone else. They do not deserve to be called such a name.
My children and I were in our car (not paid for by the State, by the way - check it out if you like) when we heard a report of Mr Myers's column. My 12-year-old daughter and seven-year-old son would like an explanation from you, your paper and Mr Myers as to what right have you to call them this name.
I could continue, but this would result in name-calling, which would be reducing myself to your journalist's and your paper's level. - Yours, etc.,
SINEAD KELLY,
Lismeehan,
Co Clare.
Madam, - A footnote on your Letters Page regularly declares: "It is our policy to represent as wide a range of views as possible within the constraints of libel and taste."
I would hope that the above policy will in future apply to An Irishman's Diary. - Yours, etc.,
ALAN KEAVENEY,
Tara Grove,
Wellpark,
Galway.
Madam, - A few thoughts following Tuesday's provocative Irishman's Diary. Rather than accept that the provision of social welfare benefits to single-parent families is a cause of decline in social standards, I would suggest that such social difficulties have arisen as a consequence of the evolution in this State of a divisive and inequitable social structure. Those on low incomes have less choice and opportunity (educational, recreational, housing, healthcare) than those on better incomes.
We continue to live in the midst of plenty, but some have far more than their share and many continue to depend, because of circumstances in which they find themselves or into which they have been born, on appropriate social welfare income. Some of the latter are young, single parents (mostly women). Such people in the past depended on charity, both religious and non-religious, with appalling consequences for some.
The State has intervened to protect and to provide. Allied to this should be an effective political move to eradicate poverty.
Rather than see this debate (as there now surely must be one) develop into a row about political correctness and/or political point-scoring, wouldn't it be wonderful to see the development of a political strategy, adequately resourced, designed to eliminate poverty and the ill-effects associated with the disproportionate distribution of wealth in this country? - Yours, etc.,
KEVIN O'DOHERTY,
Islington Avenue,
Dún Laoghaire,
Co Dublin.
Madam, - I'm sure the erudite Mr Myers is well aware that the female parents of many of those who contributed most to the world we live in were MOBs. - Yours, etc.,
MATTIE LENNON,
Lacken,
Blessington,
Co Wicklow.