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The Darkness into Light event from 2017. Sasko Lazarov/Photocall Ireland

Pieta offers redundancies and all staff salaries have been cut by up to 30%

The postponement of this year’s Darkness Into Light event was a particular financial blow for the charity.

MENTAL HEALTH CHARITY Pieta House has said that due to the impact of the global Covid-19 pandemic, it has a budget shortfall of around €6.5 million this year.

Pieta provides free therapy to those engaging in self-harm or who have loved ones who died by suicide. The vast majority of the charity’s income is received through fundraisers and donations.

Due to this “significant” deficit, it has introduced cuts across the organisation, including letting workers for the organisation go and implementing a salary cut of up to 30% for all its staff.

“Up to 28 full-time equivalent compulsory redundancies taking place in the area of clinical support. There will also be further reductions in a number of areas through temporary lay-off and non-renewal of contracts,” the organisation said.

“These measures are needed to ensure that the delivery of services to clients can be protected now, and over the long term, when our vital services will continue to be needed.”

A significant amount of funds have been lost due to the postponement of the Darkness into Light event, which was due to take place on 9 May.

Pieta said that it is currently undertaking a number of fundraising campaigns to try to keep up public donations as much as possible. 

All departments in Pieta have been required to cut costs and redundancies have already taken place across the organisation as a result of the Voluntary Severance Scheme that was managed in April. 

“We have not come to these decisions lightly and it is with great regret that compulsory redundancies will also be required as a result of the restructuring of our Clinical Services team,” a statement said.

Pieta CEO Elaine Austin said: “We understand this is a very difficult time for our dedicated staff and we deeply regret having to take this step.

“With the loss of our flagship annual fundraising event, Darkness into Light, we have been left with a very significant funding gap and in order to keep our doors open to clients, we must make these very difficult decisions.

Our current fundraising campaigns, including Sunrise and the recent Concert for Hope, are very important and we would appeal to the general public to support them as much as possible as this will help us maintain vital services to our clients. 

Pieta remains committed to helping vulnerable people who are experiencing suicidal ideation, self-harm or who are bereaved by suicide through our 24/7 crisis helpline

  • 1800 247 247

To support Pieta’s fundraising efforts, please visit www.pieta.ie/donate

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    Mute Roy Dowling
    Favourite Roy Dowling
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    Dec 1st 2021, 6:52 PM

    US getting involved in another situation that has absolutely nothing to do with them. Seems there the only country that can invade others without consequences.

    125
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    Mute Seán Ó Briain
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    Dec 1st 2021, 7:07 PM

    @Roy Dowling: So Russia should be allowed to invade Ukraine without any repercussions? Interesting.

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    Mute Eoin Roche
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    Dec 1st 2021, 7:13 PM

    @Roy Dowling: You don’t think security matters that impact the NATO block borders have anything to do with the United States? Not sure you know much about anything.

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    Mute Roy Dowling
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    Dec 1st 2021, 7:13 PM

    @Seán Ó Briain: What repercussions did the US suffer when invading countries in the middle East? The us invades who they like and the world keeps quite?

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    Mute Will
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    Dec 1st 2021, 7:16 PM

    @Seán Ó Briain: how many countries have the US invaded ?Seems like the usual suspects like UK, Nato and the EU have done a good job over the last few years to provoke there pal Vlad. Anyways I’m sure the grub is plenty full and the drinks flow long into the night at the various get-togethers.

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    Mute Eoin Roche
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    Dec 1st 2021, 7:27 PM

    @Will: Putin blameless I’m sure. Have a read of a book called Red Notice by Bill Browder and educate yourself as to what really goes on in the corridors of power in Russia.

    38
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    Mute Bill Spill
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    Dec 1st 2021, 7:27 PM

    @Roy Dowling: Isn’t Ukraine quite near to Nato countries? And isn’t the US something to do with Nato?

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    Mute Roy Dowling
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    Dec 1st 2021, 7:38 PM

    @Bill Spill: Russia itself borders NATO countries and it’s ally Belarus also borders NATO countries. Didn’t see the US having issues there. US is like a bully getting upset because another bully has started picking on weaker countries. They want to be the only bully.

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    Mute Daniel Roche
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    Dec 1st 2021, 7:42 PM

    @Roy Dowling: so you can’t answer the question

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    Mute Bill Spill
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    Dec 1st 2021, 8:45 PM

    @Roy Dowling: So when you say they are getting involved in a situation that had absolutely nothing to do with them, what do you mean?

    13
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    Mute Splat
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    Dec 1st 2021, 11:12 PM

    @Roy Dowling: you wouldn’t be speaking English now if it wasn’t for the US.

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    Mute David F. Dwyer
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    Dec 1st 2021, 11:26 PM

    @Splat: Given that our mother tongue is Irish, would it really matter if we were speaking a language other than English now?

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    Mute Shane McGrath
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    Dec 2nd 2021, 1:04 AM

    @Roy Dowling: Haaaaa. Putin doesn’t give a Sh11te about sanctions….

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    Mute Contrary Mary
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    Dec 2nd 2021, 2:09 AM

    @Roy Dowling: The president begged the US to help. Stop your lazy anti-Americanism.

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    Mute Contrary Mary
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    Dec 2nd 2021, 2:13 AM

    @Roy Dowling: ffs! One was a response to domestic terrorism that killed thousands on their soil. The other I’ll give you was to settle a score for Bush’s daddy.

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    Mute Splat
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    Dec 2nd 2021, 9:13 AM

    @David F. Dwyer: how innocent you put it

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    Mute Ciarán FitzGerald
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    Dec 1st 2021, 6:27 PM

    This is all the world needs right now.

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    Mute Hugh Morris
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    Dec 1st 2021, 6:35 PM

    @Ciarán FitzGerald: what the world needs now, is love, sweet love

    68
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    Mute Martin Scaldbag
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    Dec 1st 2021, 9:39 PM

    @Ciarán FitzGerald: we need. The Donald back now,!

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    Mute Shane McGrath
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    Dec 2nd 2021, 1:04 AM

    @Martin Scaldbag: scaldbag

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    Mute Denis K
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    Dec 1st 2021, 6:36 PM

    Don’t think Putin really worries a lot about sanctions. Already a lot of sanctions in place, has not stopped him taking parts of Georgia and the Crimea. Slap wrist threat.

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    Mute Warren Mcdermott
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    Dec 1st 2021, 6:43 PM

    @Denis K: yeah was thinking that and if he did invade he could get his mate in Belarus to come in from the North hit on 2 sides,all doe that could drag Poland in then

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    Mute John Mc Auley
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    Dec 1st 2021, 7:22 PM

    U S Has invaded and caused more wars than any nation …And who exploded 2 Atomic bombs

    49
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    Mute William Tallon
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    Dec 1st 2021, 7:58 PM

    @John Mc Auley: Just curious as to where you got that information from? I’m not a supporter of or apologist for the U.S. by the way it’s just that it doesn’t seem to accord with historical fact. I’d imagine some far older European nations may be way ahead of them in that regard. Lots of countries have exploded two atomic bombs by the way. The U.S. though is obviously the only nation to use them in a war situation and the context of why they did needs to be considered.

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    Mute Glen Ó Conghaile
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    Dec 1st 2021, 11:30 PM

    @John Mc Auley: only 2?

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    Mute Eddie Fenlon
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    Dec 1st 2021, 8:16 PM

    Smells of Hitler invading Czechoslovakia . The west huffed and puffed then as well and we all know what happened

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    Mute Genera L Consensus
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    Dec 1st 2021, 9:00 PM

    Join NATO Ukraine, get it over with

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    Mute Gary C
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    Dec 2nd 2021, 12:57 AM

    With Sleepy Joe at the helm Russia, China, N Korea and Iran can do whatever they want. The time has never been better to strike than with a pensioner struggling to read a tele-promt sentence at the wheel.

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    Mute James Arnold
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    Dec 1st 2021, 11:30 PM

    Mr. Putin can read between the lines. The Western alliance knows his little games and applies their own. If Russia wants a war they will get a war. The truth is this: The NATO build up is massive too. Putin is behind it. Russia wants Ukraine. Ukraine doesn’t want him! And all this nonsense with Belarus and Poland. Who do you think is behind it? Didn’t Hitler do the same? The thing is NATO can do tremendous damage to Russia as 465 nukes are aimed at every military target and at every Russian city including Moscow as the first site to highlight the power of the west! The Hitler says are gone. No tanks! No ships. Nukes and it will happen. This man Putin is playing with a deadly flame. Out he goes with his hidden 200 billion in hidden bank accounts stolen from the Russian people. He is a very presumptuous man and he will be humiliated in front of his own people.

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    Mute Shane McGrath
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    Dec 2nd 2021, 1:08 AM

    @James Arnold: That all sounds great. But, there is an ego there that super edes everything you said. Putin will push as many buttons as he can until no more can be pushed. Then he’ll back pedal a little until the west think they have a victory. He annexed the Crimean without so much as a strongly worded email. He’ll try and reunite the old USSR states and increase the sovereign and fiscal strength of the union by whatever means possible. He is on a long mission and wont stop at a few pointing fingers from weak western leaders.

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    Mute James Arnold
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    Dec 1st 2021, 11:59 PM

    I have been studying international warfare for three years. The power of nuclear weapons are about 1,000 times greater than those bombs dropped on Japan. The old days of trenches and infantry are over. No soldiers needed at all. No planes needed either. It’s nuclear warfare. And Russia will be decimated first. All it takes is a command. The whole country is destroyed

    4
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    Mute Charles Mander
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    Dec 2nd 2021, 12:27 AM

    @James Arnold: ye need to chill out on the comments guy

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    Mute Fr. Fintan Stack
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    Dec 2nd 2021, 10:25 AM

    @James Arnold: All it takes is a command and the whole world is destroyed.

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    Mute Scott Coulter
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    Dec 1st 2021, 8:48 PM

    Sanctions shmanctions, sanctions are useless.

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    Mute James Arnold
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    Dec 1st 2021, 11:58 PM

    I have been studying international warfare for three years. The power of nuclear weapons are about 1,000 times greater than those bombs dropped on Japan. The old days of trenches and infantry are over. No soldiers needed at all. No planes needed either. It’s nuclear warfare. And Russia will be decimated first. All it takes is a command. The whole country destroyed all because of a little tiny man who murdered others and cared nothing for his own i.e. The Kursk for example and this little man needs to use a toilet like the rest of us. He may be loved by his own but he has successfully deceived his own. A disaster.

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