Sir, – It seems to me that those expressing outrage at the treatment of the former executive director of Unicef Ireland, Melanie Verwoerd, should perhaps focus their attention a little less on the dismissal and a lot more on the financial settlement Ms Verwoerd is reputed to have received (Home News, August 1st).
You report that Ms Verwoerd has received an ex gratia payment of €200,000, and note her salary of €100,000 per annum.
This scale of salary is, by any standards, extraordinarily generous.
The vast bulk of donations made to charities in Ireland come from people who are barely scraping a living. They see pictures on television and in the newspapers of starving children in the Horn of Africa and give as much as they can afford.
Indeed, I have no doubt that many people on welfare share what they can with those less fortunate than themselves.
I do not expect Unicef workers to give their time for free or even to work for the average industrial wage. Nor do I feel they should be paid in telephone numbers either.
Who decides the level of earnings and allowances registered charities pay to their staff?
The public has a right to know. – Yours, etc,