Cutting overseas aid would not solve our money woes

I could not disagree more with the letter (Foreign aid should be stopped immediately, May 28).

Ireland is spending less than 50 cent on foreign aid in every €100 of income. To imply that if Ireland cut foreign aid our country would not suffer from ‘financial meltdown, suicide, marriage breakup and eviction’ is farcical and naive.

Irish people are generous givers to charities. In a survey conducted by Dochas, the umbrella body for Irish NGOs, 8 out of 10 Irish people said that overseas aid, and support for developing countries, was important. They said Ireland should be proud of its reputation for having one of the best overseas-aid programmes.