Madam, - Mary Robinson's attempt at a defence of her contentious remarks (December 6th) has merely compounded the insult.
That women (and indeed men) who choose to "child-rear" and "home-make" are not fulfilling their "true potential" is clearly implied. The confused thinking of the writer is amply demonstrated as these "care-giving roles" are described as both "enriching" and a "burden" in the same sentence.
But what is profoundly sad about the letter is that it is clear Mrs Robinson regards education as a means to make a "career" rather than a mind-expanding exercise that will allow an individual to maximise the life experience.
She fails to discern between education and training and has obviously fully succumbed to the neo-conservative economic ideology that sees the individual as a mere production unit. Women or men who decide to raise a family are regarded as lost profit-making opportunities and from the dawn of this new thinking, home-makers have been hounded into the work place to make profit for someone else.
The consequence of this social engineering has yet to be fully seen, but there are many who fear for the future. In truth, all Mary Robinson's "women's movement" did was to grab prevailing male values and wrap a skirt around them. - Yours, etc,
JIM O'SULLIVAN, Rathedmond, Sligo.