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ST VINCENT DE Paul has long been an Irish institution, helping those most vulnerable in Irish society no matter what.
It’s always been a safe haven for those who have nothing left. Food vouchers and Christmas gifts are being sent out to tens of thousands of families across the country this month, the busiest time of year for the charity.
The need for SVP’s services has increased in recent years as the homeless crisis, coupled with an increasing cost of living, spiral out of control for many families nationwide.
SVP’s vice-president Kieran Stafford said the demand for services is increasing every year and that it doesn’t seem like stopping any time soon. Over 140,000 people are expected to ask the charity for help this year, according to Stafford.
He said: “What we would be giving would mainly be food vouchers and, in some cases, there would be Christmas presents. There is no let-off in demand. There are still more people coming to us looking for assistance. We’re encountering the same problems night in, night out. We have seen no discernible decrease since last year. We’ve been handling the same amount of calls.”
Donations
Despite challenges faced by some of SVP’s districts, Stafford explained how the charity is reasonably well-funded by public donations, something which SVP says it does not take for granted and will eternally appreciate.
St Vincent de Paul said it is expected to make at least 50,000 visits to homes in the month of December, a time of year in which many people severely struggle to make ends meet.
Stafford added: “Thankfully, we’re doing okay at the moment. Some areas are experiencing greater difficulty with increased requests for assistance and challenges in terms of raising money. In general, we’re maintaining the donations at the same level that we have over the last couple of years.
We’re seeing no decrease in the number of calls. It is a vital time to raise funds and awareness of what is happening. In terms of money, we distributed €35 million worth of assistance last year.
However, Stafford described a new trend SVP is seeing recently, a request which is now becoming quite the common occurrence.
Many people living in rural areas are now calling SVP looking for help getting to hospitals for appointments or surgeries. Many, according to Stafford, have nobody to drop them into town so they can get a bus or train. Those without money can’t afford to get taxis into town either.
Stafford added: “People in rural areas might find themselves in huge difficulty trying to get to hospital. We’re being asked on a regular basis for help in this regard. If you’re on a low income and you are isolated, it becomes an enormous challenge if you don’t have someone who can drive you.”
You can donate to the Society of St Vincent de Paul here.
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Would love to see RTE explain the salary Ray D’Arcy receives based on them figures.
How does Newstalk Breakfast see a rise in listeners with that insufferable know it all Ciara Kelly.
@Laura Ni Hearga: The same way Pat Kenny’s show sees a rise. People hate listen so they can scream at the radio.
@Laura Ni Hearga: because she speaks her mind, comes without a preset agenda unlike one or 2 of her newstalk colleques (they are actually the ones showing a drop in listeners esp that leftie moncrief fella) and also the fixed narrative of rte radio 1 presenters some also on the way down.
@Laura Ni Hearga: yeah can’t stand her.
@ChadChaderson: stopped listening to morning Newstalk because of her would do your nut in
@M: Ciaras co-presenter is a “leftie”.
Thats why the numbers are up?
RTE just caters for wokesters, while they all support and applaud each other the rest of us switch off
You’d want to be barking mad to listen to it though…
2fm…a joke of a station. I’m not saying breakfast republic was everyone’s cup of tea but imagine having 180,000 listeners, cancelling the show, sacking Keith Walsh and replacing them with that muck.
@Brian Heffernan: 2FM should be sold off. It adds nothing to the FM band. RTE Gold would be better on FM instead of it. Not all parts of the country get Classic Hits so RTE Gold would fill a gap for those areas.
@Brian Heffernan: Well said Keith.
@Brian Heffernan: It’s bad because Dan Healey has lost the plot these day’s. What on earth is he thinking with these day’s? His Arse it must be… putting them 3 on the breakfast show especially that dreadful horror voice of Doireen! Christ she is bad!!!
@Ed: listen to Jennifer Zamparelli or allowing someone to get sick into your ears? Which would you prefer?
@Billy Davies: I’d rather choose none of them if that’s ok.
@Ed: Good point, Kind of a BBC Radio 2 which is the biggest station in the UK..
Delighted for Dermot and Dave. Really enjoy the vast majority of their stuff (except for Noni).
Lol at those PR comments – trebles all round – everyone’s doing brilliantly! The reality is there is very little choice on Irish FM radio – I wonder if they survey how many people are listening to online stations or 6music?!
How come Lyric doesn’t rate a mention?
@PJ Berry: Yes, I’ve listened to Lyric FM for a lot of my life. It has a smaller listenership according to the report.
Radio novvvvaaaaaaa. Except Dee Woods, she’s a tool
The quiz at four on ray d’arcys show every day is kinda boring and dragged out. He’s asking contestants what they’re having for the dinner just to kill a few extra minutes
@Sean O Cathasaigh:
That’s my favourite part
2FM breakfast show has to be the worst ever since radio started. They must have picked them three gob.. sh..it..s from the bottom of the toilet bowl. Jennifer Zapp is just as bad. Now Tracy is good at her job. God it would be great if Radio Nova from the 80s came back on air. They were propper DJs.
RTÉ have a radio station? Must look for it.
@Dave Barrett: you can’t see radio, it’s invisible
@Hugh Morris: Radio Station. Where they broadcast from. Not the frequency.
Even allowing for language difference, I’m surprised that Tús Áite at 1700 on RNaG isn’t on the list. Only from 3 to 5 news topics discussed daily in ‘standard’ Irish, at drive-time, calmly, without adverts, and without the need to reach hastily to turn off the bongo-bongo at 1800 that’s on RTE1. RNaG(+TG4) is possibly the only good reason to pay a TV licence.
@Fachtna Roe: Interesting. Good to see an unbiased comment on here for a change! But that’s enough about my comment…
@William Tallon: LOL, you’re a leg end
@Hugh Morris: The game’s afoot…
Newstalk Breakfast,The Pat Kenny Show a bit of Lunchtime Live, a bit of Moncrieff and a bit of Spin SW and that’s it for me. I find all the rest a tad silly! Nobody makes up for Gerry Ryan, Larry Gogan, Gay or Marian… “those days are gone…”
10 songs on repeat all day long
Government should make haste and prepare an urgent meeting regarding the implementation of a Radio tax to support RTE
What is bewildering for us non Irish is how boring rte is to us non Irish ears and then there’s rte, s total lack of any diversity.. All its presenters and output is all much cut from the same cloth.. Why eg are their no afro presenters.. Or any other ethnic or religion.
.
Irish radio listeners must have a high boredom threshold… Its seems to me that most people under seventy don’t watch or listen to rte. And then the tam ratings include those that are just switching channels.
Ie retention span!
Irish Radio, regardless of who owns it, is absolutely brutal. How many times a day do these stations think we need to hear Adele bemoaning some personal problems for starters. Classic hits my bean bag. Pretty much the same 30 or so songs recycled over and over. And that Dua Lipa rendition of Elton Johns songs is some of the laziest music I’ve ever heard. There’s no effort in it. Same tripe over and over and over across all the stations.
yes if you add up all the listeners to every single station the total figure exceeds the population by 4 or 5 times so yeah even if i channel hop i guess i am counted.
Lies lies more lies
Those who have ears to hear let them hear. We lend our ears to endless patter, but weather forecasts are important.
The Ray D’Arcy Affect
where I live i have very little choice, even hard to pick up rte since the they done away with dab radio. lucky I’m getting a Bluetooth radio from Santa.
The D’Arcy Affect
have your say