Headline in today’s Irish Times: “State faces crisis as population grows older” and then an article in both the Indo and Examiner about how difficult it is for men to be perfect and so many of them are under stress from job, relationship and family that they are seeking help from psychiatrists. The poor things!

Some of the pregnant women on Eumom are really worried because their employers are telling them that they may not be able to top up their paltry maternity benefit. I had a right old rant about it yesterday evening on the site and to long suffering Himself. It’s never going to be a man’s problem as long as childrearing is associated with women. As long as it is state policy not to allow paternity leave or paid parental leave, this will always be the case. I think it is high time to make it a “man’s problem”. I reckon Lysistrata had the right idea – she decided to get the women of Athens (?) to go on a sex strike to stop the men battling with the Spartans (I may have the facts slightly skewed here…?)

What would happen to the country if all the women of Ireland decided “let’s call 2005 a labour free year”? Imagine 2010 no children in primary schools, 2018 no 12 year olds starting secondary school, 2024 no 18 year olds in third level courses, 2028 no 22 year olds to cover the women on maternity leave…. Here’s hoping by 2028 that this will not be an issue.