Brandon Scott
Wishes and votes of parents in referendum are being ignored
The Government has been told that it needs to “overcome its profound ideological blind spot” and that it is “blinkered” after the programme for government made no mention of providing supports to parents who wish to stay at home with their children.
Speaking to The Irish Catholic newspaper, Independent TD for Offaly Carol Nolan said that it’s “imperative” that “parents are not forced out of the home and essentially reduced to economic units of production”.
She said: “In terms of the provision of childcare, of course working parents and providers must be supported but it is equally important for Government to try and overcome its profound ideological blind spot on this issue with respect to parents who want to be supported while looking after their children in the home.
“This is not about pitting one group of parents against another, but the fact remains that there is a woeful lack of commitment to the constitutional imperative which recognises that parents should not be forced out of the home and essentially reduced to economic units of production.”
She went on to say that: “We need to shake off that blinkered and reductive understanding of childcare which has become embedded in recent years and which was rejected in the recent referendum. This reductive view is often subtly rooted in a government overreach.
“We need to broaden our horizons to include support for stay-at-home parents. We need to make them feel they are vital contributors to the common good.”
Writing in this paper, columnist and barrister Maria Steen said that the voters made their voice very clear during last year’s referenda, but it seems as if the wishes of parents are being ignored.
“The voters made their position very clear when they rejected the attempt to remove from the Constitution the acknowledgment of the debt the State owes to women for the work they do in the home, yet the programme for government makes absolutely no mention of women who wish to stay at home with their children,” she said.
“The government push for childcare as being the ‘best opportunity’ for children or even “enabling” families stands in stark contrast with the evidence about the wishes of most parents. According to the 2022 census, 78% of children are cared for by a parent or a family member with another 2% cared for by a childminder in the home; less than 20% were in childcare outside the home.
“And so, ignoring the wishes of the vast majority of parents, the new government is so committed to childcare.”
Independent Senator Rónán Mullen provided a mixed review of the programme for government, saying that he welcomed certain aspects like the removal of the Citizens’ Assembly and retention of the three-day waiting period but stressed more needed to be done to restrict access to pornography online.
“I’m delighted that there’s no mention of the Citizens’ Assembly,” he said. “I’ve always felt that the only Citizens’ Assembly is the one that is directly elected by the people and I feel that the Citizens’ Assembly, while at one level, you can see they’re consultative, at another level they’re very capable of being manipulated by questions being framed in a particular way by certain privileged academics and other civil society leaders.
“I said at one stage it was a bit of a playground for Woke academics. I would like to see legislation that would put strict age verification requirements on purveyors of pornography online. I’m glad that there isn’t a proposal to get rid of the three-day waiting period in relation to abortion.”
Newly-elected TD for Cork North-Central, Independent Ireland’s Ken O’Flynn said that although he welcomes the absence of topics such as hate speech and “zealous left rubbish”, he thinks the programme doesn’t go far enough.
“I don’t think the programme for government goes far enough. It’s a programme which the answer is spend, spend, spend. Justice is very, very light.
“I do welcome the idea that there is no mention of referendums on this, that, and the other. I’ve also noted that hate speech hasn’t been mentioned either. Which can only be a good thing. The zealous left rubbish, and that’s all I can describe it as, seems to have left a lot of the programme for government.”
Fr John Joe Duffy, an outspoken activist for the fishing industry and a priest based in Creeslough, Co. Donegal, praised the programme for government for its “comprehensive inclusion of fisheries”.
“I very much welcome the Programme for Government in relation to fishing and education, but really in relation to fishing,” he said. “I think it is the first time in my knowledge of programmes for government that has had such a comprehensive inclusion of fisheries – it’s unprecedented.
“The commitment to give a dedicated junior minister for fisheries is something that is to also be very much welcomed.
“I think there is a genuine commitment overall within the programme for government to look at the factors that are damaging rural Ireland and looking at that VAT rate for tourism.”