Sir, - As a mother who works outside the family home, it is hard for me to take any pleasure from the economic benefits which my partner and I will derive from the new tax bands, when these will be gained solely at the expense of other family members and friends. These include women who care for elderly or infirm parents; women who care for disabled children; women who work hard each day without pay, without breaks , without benefits, and whose vital role in the infrastructure of this society has been devalued overnight by this Budget. For many women - and it is predominantly women - there is no element of choice involved: they are needed by their families and they respond to this need. In other circumstances women do make a choice between working inside or outside the home, and the right to choose the role which suits them, their partners and their children best is a basic right which no Government should attempt to undermine through economic penalties.
Neither the State nor the employers of this country provide adequate childcare facilities for the workforce. There is an appalling lack of respite care, and the support for many families struggling to deal with illness or disability is non-existent. It is mostly women who compensate for this and who carry this responsibility. Their partners in turn facilitate the process by working hard to earn an income and support the family. That these families should be penalised, and that our family should profit at a time of enormous prosperity is unjust and incomprehensible.
This country can afford to share its success with all its citizens. We are more than just fodder for the Celtic Tiger. - Yours, etc., Mary Coll,
Ashbrook Park, Ennis Road, Limerick.