Sir, - I am appalled at the amount and concerned at the direction of our Third World aid (World View by John O'Shea, August 12th).
Irish citizens at a personal level are and always have been generous. Why then has this Government, in such a boom time, failed to increase our aid budget to meet our UN target?
Allocation to ground-up, community-based, local projects ensures that funding reaches the poorest of Third World citizens. Adequate use of resources at this level can be verified by Irish NGOs and missionaries who work locally and know their communities well.
Why not allocate our resources to a diversity of small projects? And, if we do occasionally provide government-to-government aid, surely the Minister has a responsibility to ensure that the Irish taxpayers resources reach their target group, and that this too is verified. - Yours, etc.,
James H. Casey, Granitefield, Dun Laoghaire, Co Dublin.