Madam, - We have learned from the Taoiseach that there are 411 people presently occupying hospital beds at enormous cost to the taxpayer, even though their medical treatment has been completed, simply because there is nobody at home to care for them.
The absence of carers in the home is just one example of how income-tax individualisation has proved to be counter productive from its inception. Might this be an opportune time, therefore, for the Government to consider rolling back this infamous scheme which presently penalises single-income married couples by taking up to an extra €100 per week from their pay compared with dual-income couples? - Yours, etc,
ANNE CAHILL, Laurel Park, Clondalkin, Dublin 22.