Madam, – Myles Duffy (March 10) is right to say the economic crisis must prompt “urgent new thinking, revised priorities and new practical initiatives, beginning with a changed approach to aid and welfare”. It is a pity that his argument fails to provide that “new thinking”, and simply expresses a rather old-fashioned notion of charity. Essentially, he argues that the needy in Ireland are more “deserving” of aid than the needy elsewhere, and that such aid must come through “charities”.
I would contend that a better example of new thinking would be to seek to eradicate the roots of poverty, not the consequences of it. We must begin to think of poverty in terms of denial of fundamental human rights, not simply charity and hand-outs. And we must stop thinking that poor people far away have fewer rights than other poor people.
Cutting the overseas aid budget will do nothing to solve the economic crisis, but it will certainly condemn millions of people to a life in poverty.
Our overseas aid is not “charity”, to be turned on when Ireland is feeling “generous”, and then turned off when we are feeling the pinch. Rather, our aid is a practical expression of our deep and lasting commitment to fight injustice, oppression and poverty wherever it exists, in times of crisis more than ever. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – I think I have found the solution to the economic crisis. Many of us ignored the warnings of our political leaders with our negative gabbling about the economy over the past couple of years. Those of us who couldn’t shut up about crazy house prices, government overspending, short-term political thinking, lack of accountability and poor leadership are to blame for our current plight.
However, as it seems to have been so easy for us to talk ourselves into recession, I think we gab-gifted Irish should now unite to talk ourselves out of one. In theory it should be just as easy. I suggest we start on St Patrick’s Day. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – This morning on FM4 radio we heard that Eamon Gilmore TD visited Elvis Presley’s home, Graceland, last year.
His choice of song on the Gareth O’Callaghan show was Elvis’s hit Suspicious Minds.
He surely has his fingers on the pulse of the Irish public. – Yours, etc,