Madam, - If Bertie Ahern is so interested in ensuring that we don't destroy "social capital" in Ireland the way it has been destroyed in other countries such as the United States, why did he decide several years ago to penalise single-income couples by giving them lower tax breaks than two-income couples? This sent a clear message to parents: raising a child at home is not as important as working in paid employment.
Surely, one of the best ways to ensure that social capital is maintained is to encourage parents to raise their own children at home and thereby create communities that are vibrant during the day. Instead, Bertie Ahern decided that single-income couples should be penalised for their choices.
If he was really interested in maintaining social capital, a reversal of this disgraceful policy would be a start. - Yours, etc,
KEVIN WINDLE,
Glencairn Heights,
Dublin 18.
Madam, - If the Taoiseach has been talking to Prof Robert Putnam since the early 1990s, as Carl O'Brien reports (The Irish Times, September 3rd), how is it that voluntary groups have seen the greatest decline in this time - and for the most part under Mr Ahern's Government?
Last year it was socialism, this year it is social capital - who knows about next year's fad? Politics is about society and improving it for all, not just for bouncing from one guru to the next in a attempt to appeal to the electorate. - Yours, etc,
EOIN BRAZIL,
Ballyclough,
Co Limerick.