Elaine Byrne: Would ‘a subsidy for sex’ be such a bad idea?

A Fine Gael councillor dismissed child benefit in colourful terms last week, but a payment for sex could improve our wellbeing, and possibly the economy too

‘Apart from our health and wellbeing, Ireland may well need its citizens to have more sex for practical reasons.’ Picture: Getty

“Child benefit goes to every child in the country. We’re giving child benefit to families on high wages, people on €100,000 a year. It’s like a subsidy for them to have sex.”

This was the view expressed last week by David McManus, a Fine Gael councillor for south Dublin, on Local Voices, a podcast made by the Echo, his local newspaper.

Dermot Richardson, a Sinn Féin councillor and a fellow guest, gently suggested that McManus ...