Sir, - Recent newspaper and television revelations of apparently incomprehensible cruelties inflicted on children in the past cause understandable anguish and anger. Aside from exposing some evil people (amongst many who were doing their best with little public help), releasing raw emotions, perhaps wreaking vengeance on the perpetrators, what good do they do now? The "retrospectoscope" possesses remarkably wise, incisive and compelling vision.
Would it not better behove us all to look at what we are doing now, or not doing now to children which future historians will look back at with askance?
Do we provide sufficient resources for handicapped children? Do we provide adequate respite care for families of such children? Do we invest enough in preventive childhood care such as accident prevention and health education? Do we appropriately fund our children's hospitals and units, meeting all the needs of sick children? Do we care enough about homeless children? Do we support foster families adequately? Do we care that many children miss out on school, vaccinations, appropriate nurture? Do we really as a nation endorse and activate the UN Rights of the Child to which we have signed up? Do children receive a proportionate share of the national "cake"?
I suspect that the true answer to all of the above questions is a qualified "no".
Instead of looking back in anger and shame and applying today's values to yesterday's practices, should we not be looking more critically at now and proposing to do better for the future?
A lot of money will be spent on compensation, tribunals, retribution, which would be better invested in services today. - Yours, etc., Dr Denis G. Gill,
Dun Laoghaire, Co Dublin.