2005 Press Releases
Time to Take Stock - Public Lecture by Dr Edward Walsh
What is the relationship between the rise of violence, anti-social behaviour, and lone-parent families in Ireland, and should the form of State subsidies for such families be reviewed and modified? This is one of the key questions posed by Dr Edward Walsh, President Emeritus of the University of Limerick, in a wide-ranging lecture which he will deliver as part of The Last Lecture Series at University College Cork on Wednesday, February 2nd next. A lone-parent who is eligible for all the benefits, could expect to receive up to Eur20,000 a year, according to Dr Walsh.
Organised by Professor William Reville of the Faculty of Science, UCC, the highly popular lecture series is being run this year as part of Cork's Capital of Culture 2005 celebrations. Throughout the year, speakers will address subjects covering everything from the cosmos to the points race.
In his address, Dr Walsh contends that while Ireland is justifiably proud of the success brought by the Celtic Tiger, rather than continuing to pat ourselves on the back, perhaps the time has come for some national stock taking and a critical evaluation of where Irish society is now.
For one thing, he argues, Ireland's present-day success offers no guarantees for the future because we have enriched ourselves by processing other people's ideas - take the US multi-nationals out of the Irish economy and we would be "still struggling at the bottom of the EU charts with Greece and Poland." The stark reality, Dr Walsh says, is that we are greatly dependent on such companies and that our future prosperity will hinge on our ability to "embed" them in the Irish economy by encouraging them to do more innovative work here, while at the same time developing a portfolio of "robust and sophisticated Irish companies" with international trade links.
In turn, Dr Walsh says, the "bald pursuit" of economic success raises other fundamental questions about Irish society, including the pursuit of happiness -a legitimate aspiration- and how we should develop in the years ahead. The evidence, he says, suggests that many of today's young people may be receiving less love, discipline, care and attention, than previous generations, and that many pre-teen and teenage children are out of control. Ireland is ranked 51st out of 60 countries for alcohol and drug abuse, methadone maintenance has increased from 150 to 6,500 in the past decade, and reported cases of Chlamydia have increased from 200 in the 1990s to 2000-a-year at present, with a similar rise in the figures for Syphilis. Could it be, Dr Walsh, asks, that "the layers of political correctness" that were put in place for good reasons, are now combining to produce bad results, that they are, in fact, serving to over-protect certain individuals and groups whose "selfish or boorish behaviour is damaging to Irish society as a whole?"
Other elements, such as the retreat of the Catholic Church under the cloud of its own sexual scandals as well as bribery and corruption in high places, have to be woven into the equation, Dr Walsh says, but the core need to construct a new framework of values, remains. The State, he adds, could make a start by removing the incentives it has put in place that tend to accentuate the problem. One of them is the active encouragement of single-parent households. "The number of female lone-parents receiving Lone-Parents' Allowance from the Department of Social Welfare and Family Affairs was 2,496 in 1975 and was above 78,000 in 2004."
Dr Walsh says that an extensive body of international literature demonstrates that children from lone-parent families "draw the short straw of life" and are much more likely to be involved in delinquency and crime than those who are born into homes where both biological parents are present." He cites one US study which shows that 60 per cent of men accused of rape and 72 per cent accused of murder, grew up in a home without their biological father. If the incentives offered to lone-parents for social housing or other benefits, actually encourages lone parenthood, then those incentives should be removed, he says.
Other questions to be addressed in developing a new framework of values, should be the phenomenon of youth binge drinking which is associated with increased violence as well as risky sexual behaviour, and the alarming rise in substance abuse, which in itself may be a symptom of the weakening of traditional family structures. "In a well-ordered democracy, citizens' responsibilities are as important as citizens' rights. Ireland has yet to find the right balance," he says.
The lecture takes place on Wednesday, 2 February, 8pm, Boole IV Lecture Theatre. Admission is free and members of the public are welcome to attend.
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