Sir, - For several months people in this country have been following the unravelling, in the media and in various tribunals, of corrupt practices in high places in Irish society. Some of us are shocked by the level and spread of this corruption; more cynical souls just laugh it off.
The scale of such clandestine behaviour and the contents of the famous brown paper envelopes pale almost into insignificance, however, compared with the corruption that is rampant in the Third World. Some of the world's wealthiest people are leaders and ex-leaders of developing countries who have siphoned off aid money from donor countries for their own benefit or to buy arms.
At least we in Ireland have a free press to inform us about this corruption. People in the developing world do not have such a luxury. For many years I have been appealing to the Irish Government to desist from the practice of giving aid money directly to Third World governments. Far better that they channel it through the many dedicated and committed missionary organisations and Irish non-government agencies with a proven track record of getting aid to those who need it most.
The people of Ireland, through their most generous response to emergency appeals, have indicated their support for the activities of the NGOs. I would appeal to the Irish Government to respect the wishes of the Irish people and in the cause of transparency and accountability to switch from the policy of government-to-Government aid and rely more on Irish organisations and missionaries to deliver this much needed assistance. - Yours, etc.,
John O'Shea, GOAL, PO Box 19, Dun Laoghaire, Co Dublin.