Madam, - Do spin doctors now rule the world? Fianna Fáil's latest big idea to distract and divert is to hold a referendum on a constitutional amendment to give children rights. A spin doctor's dream as we approach an election in which the Government has very serious questions to answer regarding such matters as the inequalities that have been woven into the very fabric of our society during their tenure.
This new idea is surrounded by spin doctors and former ones and is being supported by a children's charity to the extent of expending funds on an advertising campaign to garner public enthusiasm for the need for such an amendment. Strange that a charity set up to provide for children in the absence of proper government-sponsored care is a partner in such a shallow and empty gesture and a strange way to spend valuable resources when the need for such an amendment is dubious, as the impact that it would have on children's lives would be negligible.
Are we really going to be sucked into this nonsense and spend months talking about an irrelevancy Surely we can see through this guff.
All that is required is for the Government to place at the centre of its policy-making procedures the noble aspiration to treat all of the children of the nation as equals.
And then give effect to that aspiration by ensuring that all children have equal access to proper nourishment and shelter; equal access to healthcare to include a routine yearly medical examination and perhaps of most importance, a guaranteed place in all three levels of education and the raising of the school leaving age to 18.
None of this access to be hindered or dictated by the earning power of parents.
Real action and not spin doctor waffle is what is needed. - Yours, etc,
JIM O'SULLIVAN, Rathedmond, Sligo.