Comments on: Leo Varadkar issues a clarification

By: Worth Noting

Worth Noting — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 13:20:32 +0000

I wonder is this Jane Dignam, the same Jane Dignam who stood for FF in the Local Election, and is secretary to Joe Behan TD?

http://electionsireland.org/?9487
http://www.wicklowpeople.ie/news/december-day-of-truth-for-nominees-1564144.html

If so, she probably heard the speech first hand and as such, would have know that Varadkar was refering to the state giving tax breaks to married couples with no dependents.

By: steve white

steve white — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 17:25:39 +0000

so he doesn’t support marriage but family(marriage)?

By: Ian

Ian — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 20:34:29 +0000

and the examiner that published the exact same letter

By: Ian

Ian — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 20:28:06 +0000

As a total aside Jane Dignam is an FFer and serial letter writer to Metro, Herald, Indo

By: Daniel Sullivan

Daniel Sullivan — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 13:40:51 +0000

SeanR, his views in the letter are entirely consistent with what he said in the Dail (yes I was watching), why do two people who are married require a greater tax break that two people who aren’t married? Wasn’t the old song about how two can live as cheap as one? but according to the tax system it is more expensive.

By: SeanR

SeanR — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 13:23:58 +0000

LOL poor Leo, he’ll never get a low-paid wife now when he can’t stay on message! Chill Leo, stop digging man.

By: Pidge

Pidge — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 13:15:54 +0000

Ah, does he think that a “family” means a married couple and one or more dependent kids?

Could’ve sworn that the 50s were over…

By: Joe

Joe — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 10:59:01 +0000

I AM not sexist and I fully appreciate that being a mother is a full-time job. Jane Dignam (Letters, January 30) has got the wrong end of the stick.

Clearly, she neither heard nor read my speech. Nor did she bother to contact me to check the facts. Rather, her letter is a reaction to an article in another paper, which has since been clarified.

I wish to re-state my support for the favourable treatment of stay-at-home spouses with dependent children.

However, I do not believe that single people should be treated less favourably than married couples where there are no dependent children involved — a situation which will be exacerbated if the taxation advantages of marriage are extended to civil partners.

Civil partnership was the topic of debate. These views are my own.

I sincerely hope that Ms Dignam raises her children to be more dispassionate and discerning than she is.

I highly recommend that she reads the Irish Independent, instead of the other paper.

Leo Varadkar TD

Dublin 2

Irish Independent

So is the Times the ‘other paper’ to which Leo was referring?