Sir, - Dr Garret FitzGerald (Opinion, September 23rd) rightly deplores the decline in marital births and the sharp increase in births outside marriage, which, he maintains, threatens social cohesion. He mentions the weight of evidence that single-parent families, despite some heroic efforts, have higher likelihoods of lifelong disadvantage. He calls for debate on what actions could be taken "to reduce promiscuity, to strengthen the stability of marriage, and to modify the pressures that are pushing the initiation of families later and later."
I share the former Taoiseach's concerns. Unfortunately, his analysis is short on possible causes and remedies.
When Dr FitzGerald's Government trail-blazed contraceptives for single people in 1985 (and penalised TDs with conscientious objections), the law (later relaxed in the 1990s) gave a clear social message that was bound to influence public behaviour. The Taoiseach was warned by those opposing the measure of its effect on births out of wedlock, sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and abortions. In 1985 there were 3,888 abortions and 5,268 births out of wedlock. By 1998, these figures had risen to 5,891 abortions and 15,133 unwed births. New cases of STDs went from 80 in 1984 to 205 per 100,000 population in 1998. This was predicted by opponents and denied by Dr FitzGerald's government.
Public values and behaviour are fragile things, which must be nurtured. The total abolition of tax reliefs for dependent children by Dr FitzGerald's government and the reduction of tax-relief on mortgages and loans affected family homes and made a statement about the value of marriage and motherhood. The attempt to impose divorce in 1986 (successfully completed by a Fine Gael successor in 1995) certainly weakened the stability of marriage, making it one of the most revocable contracts in the State. Comfortable homes could be purchased 30 years ago by one normal salary. Now two salaries cannot purchase them and owning homes is being rapidly confined to the wealthy.
To restore what is lost is difficult. It requires facing fats honestly, reversing policies without political hang-ups and seeking solutions. For a start, the Government should stop undermining the family, restore incentives for child support - enjoyed for the first 60 years of statehood - and facilitate really affordable housing. The rest is promoting respect for marriage and human sexuality, the traditional values of family and community. The floodgates, opened here in the 1980s and 1990s, are now bearing their corrosive fruit. I congratulate Dr FitzGerald on recognising the problems. - Yours, etc.,
Alice Glenn, Hilton Gardens, Balinteer Avenue, Dublin 16.