Early years care
Sir, – On International Women’s Day, it is a timely moment to reflect on the poor pay and conditions that persist within Ireland’s early years and school-age care system.
The dedication of more than 30,000 educators and practitioners shapes the early years and school-age care system. These professionals play a significant role in shaping the lives of tens of thousands of young children every day.
Unfortunately, many early years and school-age care professionals live on low pay, with the minimum hourly pay rate starting at €13.65, just 15 cent more than the minimum wage. Due to the nature of the sector and the funding available, some are only paid during term time and must apply for social welfare payments each summer to make ends meet.
The fight for improved pay is a fight for gender equality. With 97 per cent of the workforce being women, this is not just an economic issue, but a deeply gendered one. The Government must act to ensure that these professionals are respected and rewarded fairly.
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The Early Childhood Ireland Barometer 2025 shows that the Irish public is increasingly aware of this issue, with 54 per cent of adults believing that those with degrees in early years education should have the same pay as primary schoolteachers.
Early Childhood Ireland is calling for immediate action, urging the Government to guarantee parity of pay and conditions for early years and school-age care graduates with their equivalents in primary education.
This is not just about solving the recruitment and retention crisis. It is also an important signal that society values a female-dominated workforce, who are delivering a vital public good to children.
A well-funded, well-paid early years system is not just good for children and families, it’s key to closing the gender pay gap. Investing in early years and school-age care is investing in women, both the educators and parents who rely on these services to work and build their futures.
The women of Ireland’s early years and school-age care system deserve respect, fair pay, and the security they have been long denied. – Yours, etc,
FRANCES BYRNE,
Director of policy at Early Childhood Ireland,
Dublin 24.
Tariffs and free trade
Sir, – Ireland did not transition to free trade in the 1970s, as John FitzGerald says (“Slapping tariffs all round will make the US poorer”, Business This Week, March 7th).
We joined a customs union which required its members to have a common external tariff; a free trade area would not.
The eminent economist Joan Robinson said that imposing tariffs is like putting rocks in your own harbour.
Fitzgerald adds that “tariffs all round will make the US a poorer country”, just as the rock-strewn ports of the EU hurt not just Europe but the rest of the world. – Yours, etc,
DR JOHN DOHERTY
Gaoth Dobhair,
Co Dhún na nGall.
Simon Harris and Marco Rubio
Sir, – Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Harris’s double-down on the content of the phone call is naive (“Contradicting Marco Rubio’s phone call could be a misstep by Simon Harris”, Irish Times, March 7th). It is akin to sending Taoiseach Micheál Martin to Washington to present a bowl of shamrock, only for him to find at the start of the presentation ceremony that one of his team-mates has broken the bowl. – Yours, etc,
BEN MC CABE
Kensington Villas,
Rathmines,
Dublin 6.
Sir, – In The Irish Times Weekend supplement dated February 22nd, David McWilliams states that Ireland’s trade surplus of $5,700 per head is the largest per capita trade surplus of any country in the world. In The Irish Times (March 6th), we are told that the “The White House wants to address ‘trade imbalance’ with Ireland, says Rubio”.
It should be made clear to Mr Rubio that Ireland spends per head $4,525 on imports from the US whereas the US spends $240 per head on imports from Ireland. This means that Ireland’s per capita expenditure on imports from the US is 19 times the per capita expenditure of the US on imports from Ireland.
I do hope that when discussing this issue with the US that this will be pointed out to them. Perhaps the trade imbalance is actually in the other direction. – Yours, etc,
DONAL WYSE
Lusk,
Co Dublin.
St Patrick’s Day in the White House
Sir, – Perhaps it is now time to accept that, where Donald Trump is concerned, normal rules of diplomacy just do not apply. Instead of “diplomacy”, it is “di-plámás-y” all the way. Better make that bowl of shamrock a very big one! – Yours, etc,
KATHERINE QUIRKE
Dún Laoghaire,
Co Dublin.
Sir, – Following on Justine McCarthy’s excellent article, `How Taoiseach should approach US visit' (Friday 7th), here are a few more tips:
33. Tell President Trump that Ireland has an abundance of the “raw” earths he was talking about in the infamous interview with President Zelenskyy and we can send him lots of complimentary sods of turf for the Oval Office fire in the White House in return for no tariffs for Ireland.
34. President Trump loves presents – give him Leprechaun-themed playing cards so he will never be short of a card to play when he is entertaining heads of state in the Oval Office.
35. As well as the bowl of shamrock, give Trump an Easter Egg (very large) with the comment that we heard in Ireland that the price of eggs were very high in the US. – Yours, etc,
HILARY FINLAY,
Booterstown,
Co Dublin.
Sir, – There’s currently a circus in the White House with an important Irish performance due next week. We have Donald Trump as ringleader, JD Vance with whip and chair to hand. Simon Harris is trying to walk a political high-wire without tripping over his big feet, and Michéal Martin is practising his juggling. I wonder will the clowns be eaten by the lions. – Yours, etc,
DAVID CURRAN,
Knocknacarra,
Co Galway.
Trump’s America
Sir, – SpaceX have confirmed the starship explosion mid-flight, using the term “rapid unscheduled disassembly”.
Elon Musk will be hoping Donald Trump’s government mid-term won’t end up a similarly “rapid unscheduled disassembly”. – Yours, etc,
MARY HARTE,
Letterkenny,
Co Donegal
Sir, – I had a strange experience this morning. As I walked along Bray seafront this morning, I felt happy and lighthearted.
The air was clear and bracing and my mind was soothed by the lapping on water on the shore. What was this mood, this feeling of optimism? Then, it slowly dawned on me.
I had been walking for almost one hour and hadn’t thought of Donald Trump even once. – Yours etc,
GEOFF SCARGILL,
Bray,
Co Wicklow.
Reducing emissions
Sir, – Yet another article ‘ruminating’ on how to reduce methane emissions from the National Herd (‘Research breakthroughs will help Irish agriculture to cut methane’, Science & Climate, March 6th).
There are more cows than people on the island of Ireland so it’s not difficult to figure out why animal agriculture is our biggest source of emissions. Reducing the herd is the obvious solution but instead one of the solutions proposed to reduce methane emissions is to put chemical additives such as Bovaer into the animals’ feed.
The use of Bovaer has led to a wave of consumer boycotts in the UK with people concerned about the potential health implications for themselves and the ethics of using this in animal feed. The National Dairy Council uses the catchphrase “from the ground up” in their advertising campaigns. This may need to change to “from the lab up”. We really need to rethink our food system. “Growing” seven million cows that use enormous amounts of land and water and pollute our environment is not the way forward. We need to think less animal agriculture and more plants. It’s not rocket science. – Yours, etc,
JOAN BURGESS,
Friars Walk,
Cork.
Removing the triple lock
Sir, – The Sinn Féin objection to the removal of the triple lock is puzzling. Surely, they did not urge their erstwhile armed friends to wait for the opening of the lock before engaging in their operations in Britain, the Netherlands and Germany. Or perhaps they considered that the lock would not apply because fewer than 12 volunteers would be involved. – Yours etc,
PN CORISH,
Rathgar,
Dublin 6.
Political Oscars
Sir, – There was a time when Oscars night was politically “right on” for every cause and it reflected the times we lived in (“Apolitcal Oscars was a chilling sign of broader apathy”, Opinion, March). This year we saw not just an “apolitical” Oscars ceremony but one that was both cowardly and fearful of retribution from an authoritarian administration. Unfortunately, there are no Oscars for standing up for democracy. – Yours, etc,
MIKE MORAN,
Mount Prospect Avenue,
Clontarf,
Dublin 3.
Red light runners
Sir, – I have to agree with and support Dave Mathieson (“Red Light Runners” Letters, March 7th). Although I am not a cyclist – and I would not have the courage to be one on our roads, even if I were younger – I see examples every day of reckless drivers breaking the lights. Sometimes there are two or three in succession who brazenly dare to do this. An orange light almost never means slow down and stop to many drivers, and for a significant number of them a red light seems like a challenge to break the law. It’s not that they can’t stop (safely), but that they won’t stop, often accelerating into the junction through the red light. Are the rules of the road simply discarded, forgotten or unknown? Bring on the cameras to catch them or bring back Garda patrols. These drivers are a menace, both with their attitude and their resultant driving.
On a recent trip to the UK where I rented a car, I noted that city drivers seem much more aware and obey traffic rules. I observed cameras at traffic lights and elsewhere and an obvious police presence on the roads. Despite congestion and heavy traffic on thoroughfares in London, I noted that drivers, if at times aggressive, tended to be more law-abiding than in Ireland, either because of the deterrents or because of a better attitude. – Yours, etc,
MARTIN KRASA,
Sunday’s Well Road,
Cork
Ash Wednesday
Sir, – Why on earth is it necessary to “paint” a black cross on foreheads on Ash Wednesday. It looks awful and, frankly, quite unnecessary. Whatever happened to the thumb print of old? – Yours, etc,
LAURA O’MARA,
Stillorgan,
Co Dublin
The kindness of strangers
Sir, – I was completely lost recently when trying to find a venue. I asked a passerby if she could direct me. She was not familiar with the location so she suggested that l should try Google Maps. When l admitted I did not know how, she did it for me and five minutes later I arrived at my destination due to the directions from a disembodied voice on my phone. I am left marvelling at the kindness of a complete stranger and the wonder of modern technology. – Yours, etc,
MARGARET BUTLER,
Booterstown,
Co Dublin.
