Sir, - "As people become fortunate in their well-being, and as countries become similarly fortunate, there is a common tendency to ignore the poor," writes John Kenneth Galbraith in the Human Development Report 1998 (The Irish Times, September 9th).
Galbraith goes on to say that "responsibility is assigned to the poor themselves. The fortunate individuals and fortunate countries enjoy their well-being without the burden of conscience, without a troublesome sense of responsibility."
The same UN report says Ireland has the highest proportion of people living in poverty in the industrialised world (excluding the US).
Our treatment of the poorer sectors of our society in a time of economic boom is a national disgrace; poverty persists because we choose to let it. - Yours, etc., Gerard Lee,
Watkins Square, The Coombe, Dublin 8.