Sir, - Ireland's success in obtaining a seat on the UN Security Council is good news indeed and all concerned in the campaign to achieve it are to be congratulated.
Seldom does small country get to wield such international influence and it is encouraging to hear the Taoiseach say he intends to adopt a reforming approach. The UN has become a dinosaur so slow in its responses that, far from protecting human lives and rights, it is actually costing lives.
Perhaps the most poignant image of the recent flood disaster in Mozambique was that of the woman who gave birth in the branches of a tree after waiting for days for someone to rescue her from the rising water. Luckily she and her baby were saved, but countless others around the world have perished while waiting for assistance. I refer to Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Bosnia, Kosovo and Somalia, where millions of lives might have been saved.
My colleagues and I in GOAL have always been in favour of a permanent UN rapid- response force to save lives quickly whenever trouble flares or disaster strikes. This idea is receiving more and more support and I encourage the Government to make this one of its proposed reforms. - Yours, etc.,
John O'Shea, GOAL, PO Box 19, Dun Laoghaire, Co Dublin.