Sir, – It is surely unfair of the chief executive of Barnardos, Fergus Finlay, to be so critical of Ireland on the issue of child poverty during 2008to 2012 (October 29th).
For much of that period, Ireland was the fifth most indebted country in the world – not just the OECD. It should be remembered that we had gone from boom to bust virtually overnight.
Those who did manage to hold onto their jobs had their salaries cut back to the bone. The Government had little choice but to cut back on virtually all social welfare payments. Many parents had to cut back on essentials simply to keep a roof over the heads of their children. Unlike other OECD countries, almost every family in our country of just 4½ million people were saddled with repaying crippling loans which were necessary to rescue the banks. Yet unlike other OECD countries, we are well into a recovery phase that bodes well for our future – including that of our children.
We may have failed to make the grade in Unicef’s critical assessment of our treatment of children on this occasion but, short of a miracle, our options were limited. The collection and distribution of freely given donations is much less problematic. – Yours, etc,
NIALL GINTY,
Killester,
Dublin 5.