Watch Your Words

Sir, - The final paragraph of Maire Geoghegan-Quinn's column of September 20th states: "The other thing I dread is the language…

Sir, - The final paragraph of Maire Geoghegan-Quinn's column of September 20th states: "The other thing I dread is the language of the campaign. Please, could we have a moratorium on vision, outreach, embrace (in the widest sense) and empowering?"

May I suggest how lucky she is not to be working in the area of poverty. Such words, and many more, have become the norm. Those who do not see the need to use this sometimes meaningless language are frequently considered to be ill-informed; they become excluded from the inner circle of so-called concern, debate and planning.

For sanity's sake, I refer from time to time to the article by Eileen Battersby, "Watch your Language" (The Irish Times, September, 1990). Perhaps it could be republished in the national interest. - Yours, etc.,

Director, TRUST, (Medical and social service for homeless people), Bride Road, Dublin 8.