+34
In a household with two working parents, someone has to lose out
Letters to the Editor August 31st: Back to the office childcare issues, inheritance tax and Brent geese living the dreamSir, – In all the discussions about return to office mandates, one thing I have not heard are the voices of the tens of thousands of partners and spouses who are expected to pick up the slack at home when the boss says “come back”.
To cover these “anchor days” as they are called , one partner is expected to drop their commitments and juggle their job and family at the behest of someone else’s employer. That person might have to reduce working hours, cancel their own office commitments and meetings, manage school runs and childcare, etc.Irishman in Birmingham: The English often seem less interested in us than we are in themAs is often the case, women disproportionately take on the unpaid labour.
The gender pay gap highlights the lack of women in senior leadership roles. It’s hard to be ambitious when you are telling your own boss, “oh, no, I can’t make that meeting as my husband’s employer expects me to be available at that time to handle the school run”. Sir, – In response to Tony Corcoran’s letter on the merits of louder car horns, may I suggest a caveat.
Too often, drivers forget that when they sound the horn, they may be outside someone’s home. Sir, – Over my career as a public servant since the early 2000s, successive public service agreements have run to roughly 750 pages in total. Each has involved lengthy negotiations between government and unions, consultation with members, workplace briefings, ballots and so on.
Yet when the resulting pay increases are compared over time with inflation figures, the outcome is strikingly similar: public-service pay has broadly tracked inflation. Inflation is independently measured. Other European countries, including Belgium and Luxembourg, already use forms of automatic wage indexation. The Government could agree a similar mechanism whereby the inflation component of public-service pay is adjusted automatically when a defined threshold is reached.
I am not suggesting we abandon collective bargaining. Government and unions would still negotiate genuine real-pay increases, productivity, reform, etc. What would no longer need to be renegotiated every few years is the basic question of how much prices have risen because it is calculated independently anyway. Successive governments have repeatedly asked public servants to improve productivity, eliminate unnecessary processes and automate repetitive work.
If decades of agreements, negotiations and ballots have broadly delivered what an objective inflation formula could have achieved automatically, surely it is time to consider a more efficient system. – Yours, etc,Sir, – The vast majority of third-level students need accommodation from September to May; the vast majority of tourists need accommodation from May to September.
Why not issue a special renting licence to any individual with one or two properties to avail of the ¤14,000 rent a room tax-free income from the student accommodation with tax to be paid on any Airbnb or tourist rental? – Yours, etc,Sir, – My son is an autistic young adult and is unable to use standard public bathrooms when he goes out.
Therefore, he can use only a single user accessible bathroom when out in public. This usually, he can do without issue.
However, he has reported to me that he has received verbal abuse on an alarming number of occasions when simply trying to use accessible bathrooms. He receives comments such as being accused of being in the “wrong place” or other people questioning him on why he must use the accessible toilet at all.
This has led to him being afraid to use public bathrooms and I often have to accompany him to the bathroom and stand guard while he uses it. I feel that in this day and age a disabled person – visible disability or not – should not have to explain themselves just to use an accessible facility.
– Yours, etc,Sir, – I don’t know how old Bernie Kirwan is , but, as a regular bus user, I am old enough to be offered a seat by young women and young enough to be embarrassed by the gesture. – Yours, etc,Ireland, supposedly neutral but inviting Nato warships to provide the State with protection due to decades of Irish government neglect and indifference regarding defence.
In most other European countries, an article such as that would probably lead to calls for the government to resign. It appears that we have finally reached Fr Ted levels of defence and security: “Is there anything to be said for saying another Mass? ” – Yours, etc,Sir, – Ireland’s presidency of the Council of the European Union comes at a pivotal moment.
One of Ireland’s tasks is to advance negotiations on the EU’s long-term budget, which will determine the future of its overseas aid. In the face of unconscionable aid cuts by the US and some European states that threaten millions of lives, it is vital that Ireland uses its position of influence to put human rights, inequality and poverty at the heart of the process. As a core priority of its presidency, Ireland has committed to placing values at its heart.
To keep this promise, opening discussions on the EU’s Global Gateway Strategy is essential. The EU’s global investment strategy is characterised by large infrastructure investments shaped by geopolitical interests and close working ties with the private sector.
However, combining Global Gateway investment and development co-operation poses a risk of losing sight of the core aims of poverty eradication and protecting human rights. The use of public funds to derisk private investment could bolster corporate power at the expense of the communities that should be at the heart of development.
Global Gateway as currently formulated promises a “win-win” situation for the EU and its member states, the private sector and some of the most impoverished populations in the world. To date the strategy has created a hierarchy in which the interests of European states and rich corporations are prioritised over the rights of the most vulnerable.
Worrying trends are already emerging, with Trócaire’s partner organisations in countries such as Honduras and DR Congo reporting tensions, violent repression of peaceful protests and outbreaks of armed conflict linked to some Global Gateway projects. Ireland has a track record of using its voice to place poverty and human rights at the centre of the development agenda.
This week, at the meetings of Foreign Affairs ministers and EU Affairs ministers, not all member states will share this position, making Ireland’s leadership ever more critical. – Yours, etc,Sir, – In all of the recent correspondence about inheritance taxes, two things have not been discussed. The first is whether it is right to feel entitled to someone else’s wealth that you have not earned.
The second is that, given that most wealth in Ireland is probably based on increases in property prices, which have not been earned and which have exemptions or reliefs from taxation, how true is the claim that tax has already been paid on what you want to inherit? That is not to say that the owners of the wealth should not plan for its disbursement, either before or after death, in whatever way they see fit.
It is simply to raise the question as to what unearned wealth from our predecessors should mean to us. – Yours, etc,Sir, – I was relieved to learn that the floodlighting of the pitches at St Michael’s College has received the scrutiny it deserves, including a survey of the feeding habits of the light-bellied Brent goose for being unduly negative about AI. While I respect the instances he puts forward for the use of AI in areas such as diagnostic medical radiology, what he cannot deny is that in other areas AI presents “facts” that are demonstrably untrue.
Letters to the Editor August 31st: Back to the office childcare issues, inheritance tax and Brent geese living the dreamActor Olwen Fouéré: ‘I firmly believe we are in the last days of the Anthropocene’ A Wicklow woman in Marbella: ‘I would make friends in the summer and they would then go home. But I found my tribe’Van Morrison at Electric Picnic: Not quite an old snuggly blanket, but when he’s this good he’s wonderful
Please follow us on Google to support usIreland Latest News, Ireland Headlines
Similar News: You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
IMAGE Autumn 2026: Editor Lauren Heskin Bids Farewell as Irish Design Takes Center StageIMAGE magazine's Autumn 2026 issue lands on shelves Saturday, August 29, marking Lauren Heskin's final edition as editor before handing the reins to Megan Burns. The issue spotlights Irish fashion design, including Jonathan Anderson's upcoming Dior show at Trinity College Dublin, emerging Irish talent showing at Dublin Independent Fashion Week, and seasonal trends from pleats to bold pinks and reds. Niamh Ennis's career column frames September as the real new year, while Melanie Mullan joins the team as deputy editor.
Read more »
Four new films to see this week: Bitter Christmas, The Dog Stars, Guggi and ColonyBárbara Lennie, Jacob Elordi, Margaret Qualley, Derek Rowen and Jun Ji-hyun feature in a quartet of movies released in the week of August 28th, 2026
Read more »
TV guide: the best new shows to watch, starting tonightAugust 30th-September 4th highlights: including The Traitors Ireland, Sandi’s Ireland: A Literary Journey and Live from the Lycett Arms
Read more »
Three sporting events to watch this week: Your handy guide to sport on televisionYour guide to sport on television (Monday – Sunday, August 31st – September 5th)
Read more »