138 / 300
'sations are a corrective to the development of bureau-
cracy which would control all spheres of social life and
Hich is in danger of ignoring the subtler developments
needs of professional technique and service, of
lni
posing a mechanical arbitrary regulation and of being
§overned by secretly-conceived decisions. They add to
fae individuality and independent of social life."
Ireland today needs ideals. She needs men and women
w
ho can define our problems, assemble the factors which
ai
"
e
important and choose the solution which is most
"Kely to be correct. The physical and social sciences
m u s
t be brought together in teamwork to resolve the
Problems of today and of the future. In making this
contribution to the welfare of the community the pro-
fessional organisation can no longer avoid the con-
clusion that progress will turn to ashes unless it is built
on more than economic growth and material progress.
A rational gleaming machine, however ingenious, can-
not substitute for a loving humanity and "the mana-
gerial problem of humanity" not "the human problem
of management" must be seen as the central issue in
this age of "discontinuity" and the restless anxiety it
has stirred in the core of man's being, concerning his
identity and his destiny.
The professions should now begin to examine and to
suggest the way forward in relation to these issues.
MARRIAGE LAW REFORM—A.I.M. SEMINAR
A Seminar on Marriage Law Reform and Deserted
)Y
lv
es, initiated by AIM, was held in the Burlington
H
°tel, Dublin, on Saturday, 26 January 1974.
A deserted wife told her whole story, compulsively,
now her fairly well-off business man husband left her
^
e
ven years ago and how she and her children have tried
0
survive on the £ 4 per week which he pays, not
?
Ire
ctly to her, but through the I.S.P.C.C. He sold the
n°use before she knew about it and as she had no rights
0
rt) she had to be evicted by the new owner.
. There weree over 600 people at the seminar includ-
e s doctors, social workers, priests, nuns, lawyers, deser-
d and separated wives. Some deserted wives stood up
an
d identified themselves as such. At coffee people came
U
P to the experts and asked them how they could
^ p e with husbands defaulting on maintenance, how
L
e
V could get a legal separation, was it really true
Nat if they initiated
a mcnsa et thoro
proceedings that
n e
would have to pay.
e
°
Us
picious of Promise
There seemed to be almost complete agreement on
jN
e
fact that Irish family law badly needs changing.
Ur
tierous criticisms were voiced and a number of
^commendations made. The Minister for Justice had
s
r,e
d to take the wind out of their sails by promising
* fae reforms at the first session, but, in the words of
pities O'Reilly, lecturer in Family Law at U.C.D., there
^ g e n e r al fear that "it was only wind".
I he lack of adequate preparation for marriage was
.
Uc
h discussed. Miss Frances Hishon, a social worker
t
'fa the Southern Health Board, pointed out the long
t
,
ain
ing and apprenticeship needed for most careers,
r
® .fangth of time spent in preparing for life in a
Ngious order, and yet there were no prior require-
e
nts for the only non-dissoluble contract that most
°ple will ever enter into. The lack of adequate pre-
| !
r a t
i on for marriage in the school was mentioned and
t>.
e
almost complete absence of sex education. Miss
k
ls
hon remarked that many girls were conditioned to
that marriage was the great social status symbol,
d
that they consequently rushed into it. "If they are
j fa Carried at the age of 19 or 20, they feel they are
s
1
on the s h e l f. She regretted the lack of social
st
.Pport for what was piously referred to in the Con-
,'fation as the fundamental unit of society. It was
c t
that we glorify the family, and legally prevented
emphasised by a number of speakers that despite the
the marriage from dissolving, we gave little or no help
to hold it together.
Miss Hishon said that all social workers had examples
of cases where there were alcoholic husbands, or hus-
bands with psychiatric problems who were ill treating
their wives.
Deserted Husbands
The problem was that in a marital breakdown situa-
tion the woman was economically dependent on her
husband and consequently powerless. Deserted hus-
bands have problems, too, but they have greater advan-
tages under the law, they have economic status and they
have jobs. A wife who deserts her husband because he
is treating her badly will usually have no right to the
family home. She will have to exist on home assistance
for six months before she qualifies for a deserted wife's
allowance and even then she has to prove that she is
deserted—not always easy. She finds it very difficult to
find accommodation and often will not be able to
afford it. She has no means of taking her husband to
court and she finds it difficult to take a job if the
children are small. Miss Hishon said that in most cases
she came into contact with, one partner was not pre-
pared to settle, which meant that a deed of separation
—the cheapest means of regulating the situation—was
useless.
There was general agreement that the State
should not encourage couples to separate, but the point
was strongly made that neither should it put unneces-
sary legal obstacles in the way of marriages which had
obviously irretrievably broken down. In cases where,
with the help of social workers and counsellors it had
become obvious that the marriage was not viable "in
their own interests and in the interests of their children
people should be helped to plan separate mutually
respecting lives rather than be left in a permanent
battle-field; they should not be forced to remain in a
situation where they are destroying themselves and their
children."
Free Legal Aid
Free legal aid for wives was the obvious priority, as
most wives finding themselves in this situation have
no means of resorting to the Courts. This was given as
the reason why so few cases go to the Courts. And
Barbara Hussey, chairman of FLAC, pointed out that
137