Sir, - In his thoughtful examination of falling marriage rates and an increasing extra-marital birth rate (Opinion, January 16th), Garret FitzGerald touched on many factors that will considerably affect our society in the future: births to older mothers, a greater drop in the marriage rate, and the rapidly increasing number of young people now co-habiting, often without any view to marriage, irrespective of whether they have children or not. He opined rightly that these people are clearly reluctant to take on the life-long commitment of marriage, although their parents did have stable and relatively successful marriages in far less affluent times. He concludes that "the optimal conditions for bringing up children, and thus for the future of civil society, include a secure and stable two-parent home"; and to achieve this, governments have a duty to encourage and assist such a social structure.
But does government in this country actively encourage marriage? Does it not rather discourage and penalise married couples by financially rewarding single parents, even those with children from different partners? And is there not an outcry from "liberal" elements in society when this anomaly is pointed out? What of the provision of housing for young married couples? Do the immorally high property prices not effectively rule out any slim chance young couples might have of ever possessing a home, thus putting cruel and unbearable strain and stress on their relationships?
Marriages today are breaking down at an alarming rate. A falling away from religious belief, permissiveness, the over-consumption of alcohol, drug dependence, the liberation of women from the drudgery of domestic work, and their working outside the home, selfishness, a lack of will to make marriage work - all play their part in undermining what should form the solid foundation of a healthy society. Now, more and bigger refuges are needed for battered women. The number of abused men is also on the increase, if one is to believe the finding of Amen. Men and women seem to have become bitter enemies instead of partners. With all that pain, hurt, and the death of love and marriage vows, is it any wonder that marriage is going out of fashion?
Society will suffer if a solution is not found. Perhaps it is time for the Government to make pre-marriage counselling and courses in home management obligatory, so that couples contemplating marriage will have some idea of the mutual give-and-take implicit in the life-long contract they are entering on. A return to God and the Commandments might not be a bad idea, either! - Yours, etc., Vera Hughes,
Moate, Co. Westmeath.