TONY GILMORE,
Sir, - For the past five years the Fianna Fáil-led coalition has been shovelling money into the pockets of employees and employers through large-scale tax cuts and latterly the SSIA scheme.
The Progressive Democrats have made it clear that they see the future of Ireland as being closer to the US Republican vision, with low taxes and little government, than the social democratic European model, which includes higher taxation and a substantial government role in social organisation.
It should be no surprise that, as the money supply to the Government begins to tighten, the policy of social inclusion through state intervention will suffer before that of low taxation. The last government was fortunate that it had the reserves both to reduce taxes and to maintain some level of social provision.
It appears that the luxury of having our bread and eating it is now past, but there is no hypocrisy in the Government's choices in spending restrictions. People voted for a Government they knew was more interested in tax cuts than social policy; and the tax cuts are still in place, as is the SSIA scheme.
Fianna Fáil and the Progressive Democrats now have the luxury of talking out of both sides of their mouths because the commentators insist on talking hypocrisy and not ideology. If they were now pinned to declare what types of inclusion would be left after 10 years of hard choices, perhaps the voters would not be so generous the next time. - Yours, etc.,
TONY GILMORE, Cherryfield Avenue, Dublin 6.
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A chara, - With reference to the latest Charlie McCreevy debate, the Minister said on television this week that the Irish people knew exactly what they where voting for. The sad reality is that his synopsis is correct.
It is only when people in this country begin voting with their consciences as apposed to blind inherited allegiance that perhaps embarrassments like these could be avoided.
The ability of successive Irish Governments to squander and mismanage our alleged prosperity is one thing, but their continual re-election is quite simply mind boggling.
Perhaps we should just throw in the towel, and become a non-distinct territory under a UN charter, because it is becoming clearer that we have neither the will nor the conviction to govern ourselves. - Is mise,
DAVID O'SULLIVAN, Ballinode, Sligo.
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Sir, - Perhaps more than any other group in society, children are vulnerable to the negative impact of spending and tax policy decisions made during periods of financial crisis. This is particularly true of children living in poverty and children with special needs.
In recent days we have heard a succession of announcements and proposals that threaten to undermine or reverse a number of national policies and Government commitments on children.
Cuts in programmes for those with educational disadvantages, the threatened cancellation of the extension of the Medical Card to hundreds of thousands of families living in poverty, the apparent shelving of much of the Health Strategy and the suggestion that child benefit be taxed are but a few of the announced, reported or rumoured of cuts that involve the rights and welfare of children.
In this environment, virtually every element of the National Childrens' Strategy and the National Anti-Poverty Strategy requiring public expenditure is now seen to be at risk.
Children have a right not to live in poverty. They have a right to the highest attainable standard of health, to live in decent housing, to protection from violence, exploitation and abuse, and to the development of their full human potential.
These are among the rights enshrined in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, rights that we are obliged to respect. They are not the kind of policies that can be set aside when revenue collections begin to slip. And they are certainly not discretionary charitable steps that might be taken only after we have fully funded the SSIA scheme or maintained arbitrarily lower tax rates for the wealthy.
To ensure that the rights and best interests of children will not be sacrificed through cuts or changes in the budget, the Government must base its fiscal and tax policy decisions on the principle that we will honour our obligations to children. - Yours, etc.,
RAYMOND DOOLEY, Chief Executive, Children's Rights Alliance, Dublin 2.