Sir, - Emma Byrne-MacNamee (November 15th) has misunderstood my opinion article of November 9th, but it is not her fault. I wrote an article critical of one aspect of the National Women's Council's Budget submission: its proposal for a national childcare service. My criticism is based on my view that this would buttress, at official level, the need for both parents of small children to work outside the home full time, and that the extra money would end up in the pockets of banks and building societies.
I never mentioned "feminists" in my article and I spoke of "parents", not mothers; in fact, I wrote of the need for more fathers to take up work at home with their children. Nor did I in any way point the finger at those mothers who choose to go out to work full time.
Interestingly, the headline and strapline which were then appended to the article set up a contrast between "feminists" and "stay-at-home mothers". Well, I suppose it keeps us out of trouble if we're flinging mud at each other.
Let me say, for the record, that I am a diehard, dyed-in-the-wool feminist! - Yours, etc.,
Victoria White, Ashfield Road, Dublin 6