Parenting Alone in the Irish Republic
Before the arrival of refugees,
sections of Irish Society held that Lone Parents were "public
enemy No 1" the "scroungers" who were "bleeding
the state" and "living on handouts" despite the
fact that lone parents are now 13% of the population in the
Republic. Often
these attitudes came from the same people who actively oppose
abortion and continuously bleat "about the right to life".
It's interesting that they say the same of refugees.
There has always been a stigma
attached to being a lone parent there are many factors that
have created this stigma in Ireland.
Traditional family values as upheld by the Church, elements
of the Media and some right-wing politicians have all played
their part in promoting myths, stereotypes, half-truths and
often-prejudiced viewpoints.
The media in particular have sometimes made spurious
connections between the increase in tearaway youngsters, social
problems and family breakdown on single parents.
The predominance of the "traditional family"
Generally, unmarried women
who became pregnant in Ireland in the 18th, 19th
and 20th centuries were shunned by neighbours and
cast out by their own families effectively separated from mainstream
society. As families
and communities rejected them, many mothers found refuge in
workhouses, in Magdelen homes and psychiatric hospitals and
sometimes stayed in these institutions for life.
Very often their children were taken from them for adoption
or became "wards of the state" and spent their lives
in institutions. It was not uncommon for young mothers to consider or commit
infanticide rather than be shunned by society for becoming pregnant
outside of marriage. Enforced
marriage was a regular "solution" to unmarried pregnancy.
In the more recent past unmarried
pregnant women went to England, where they were known to services
as PFI (pregnant from Ireland), or went to mother and baby homes
to hide their "disgrace".
Their children were placed for adoption either in Ireland or
America. There
are many harrowing stories told of babies taken suddenly from
their mothers, family ties severed forever.
In 1964 Michael Viney reported in the "Irish Times"
that public attitude - not the law - were primarily responsible
for a lot of unnecessary suffering among these mothers.
Current Trends
Despite some progress many
still consider single parents an aberration, not the norm. Single Parents often feel isolated, different, excluded and
maligned. Current
trends show that more and more of these "lone parents"
can be defined as binuclear families with both parents actively
involved in parenting and creating two separate homes for their
families. Divorce
and remarriage, rather than being exceptional are becoming more
common. Single
Parents who receive the One Parent Family Payment come from
a multitude of social economic backgrounds and include: Single
Mothers, Widows, Divorcees and Separated Persons.
When we look at the experience
of other European Countries we find that The Irish Republic
reflects trends in other countries.
Percentage of lone parent families in European Countries
United Kingdom
23%
Finland
17%
France
15%
Belgium
15%
Austria
14%
Germany
13%
Ireland
13%
The entire European Union
14% Source
Eurostat
Many people believe that
children in single parent families always have deficits, do
poorly in school, and suffer emotional and behaviourally.
However it has been proven that children can have many
reasons for emotional/behavioural dysfunction and suffers cut
across all family types all classes and all social divides.
It is now accepted that working
class children are more likely to experience poverty and that
more lone parents live below the poverty line but the connection
is between poverty and low educational attainment and
not family structure.
Given the appropriate supports, children of single parent
families fare as good as any other children.
In the USA there are well-researched
studies that have documented positive outcomes in single parent
families. "Single
parenting develops the parent's independence and ability to
handle a variety of situations" (show1991).
"Children benefit from increased levels of responsibility.
Parental and child health outcomes were related to larger
networks of social support and good communication within the
single parent family" (Hanson 1986)
A study by the University
of Michigan of over 6,000 adults had surprisingly positive conclusions
for children of divorce.
Statistically, it turned out that adult children of divorce
were just as likely (43%) to be happily married as someone who
grew up in a two-parent home.
Many organisations who represent
Lone Parents such as One Parent Family Network, Treoir - The
federation of Unmarried parents, Parents Alone Support Service
and Gingerbread Ireland have been working effortlessly to challenge
the popular myths that surround Lone Parenting.
"A major stumbling block to equal recognition of
Lone Parent Families is that constitutionally the only family
recognised is the married couple.
We consider that amending the Constitution to give full
recognition to all family structures would be a starting point
for attitudinal change amongst the general public.
This would be the start of a process that would hopefully
encompass the enshrining parity of all families types"
stated Stella Clarke of PASS at a recent Seminar on Lone Parents.
There has been a wider acceptance of Lone Parent families
over recent years due to the fact that they now make up 13%
of the population, this Is reflected in improvement in statutory
provision for Lone Parents, greater opportunities for training,
education, employment and the mushrooming of support groups
in urban and rural areas.
It's
only a matter of time until these groups realise their potential
ability to influence government policy 13% being a considerable
proportion of the electorate.
Many groups have initiated training courses highlighting
the importance of voting and generally increasing awareness
of the democratic process.
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