This year’s budget saw much needed increases to specific areas but SVP (Saint Vincent de Paul) says that many will still struggle with essential costs this winter.
IRELAND’S leading poverty and homelessness charity SVP says Irish families will have to choose between putting food on the table or heating their home this winter, as the government fails to help make ends meet with the latest budget.
The SVP welcomed the increases of €0.65 to the minimum wage, €10 increase to Jobseeker’s payments and the €5 increase to the fuel allowance but these measures still “fall short” of the minimum standard of living rate of €15.40, according to the annual MESL (Minimum Essential Standard of Living) survey.
SVP spokesman, Jim Walsh says:
“This year’s budget, the society found, had a lot of things that were welcome but unfortunately, they weren’t strategic and there is still no appearance of a plan to help poverty.”
“Poverty is a much greater issue in Ireland than many people realise”
The poverty levels in Ireland are at an all-time high, with 5% of people being in consistent poverty, which has increased from 3.6% and 11.7% of people are at a risk of poverty which has increased from 10.6% according to the CSO (Central Statistics Office) Survey on Income and Living Conditions (SILC).
Chart: Mariana Figueiredo – Source: SILC 2025/CSO – Created with Google Sheets
The SVP says there are currently 300,000 Irish homes behind on their energy bills, a further 170,000 in arrears with their gas bills and with the abolishment of energy credits, the charity fears the increase in fuel allowance is not enough and many families will struggle to heat their home this winter.
The budget has left several people with no confidence in the government’s attempts to tackle the cost-of-living crisis, which will cause many of these people to turn to charities like the SVP for help.
The charity has received on average 250,000 calls per year for the last 3 years, with this year being no exception, as many are living from wage to wage in order to stay afloat.
Jim Walsh commented on this saying:
“At the moment, calls are up just under 10%.”
“November and December bring a lot of calls from people looking for help for Christmas and indeed for energy because we’re going into the winter season.”
The SVP are the largest voluntary charitable organisation in Ireland, active for 181 years and have over 10,000 active members. Their focus is on “alleviating the impacts of poverty by engaging in direct person to person assistance.”
The charity will launch its Annual Appeal on November 17th with many fundraising events and provisions set in place to aid those in need. Some of these include the popular Christmas Jumper Day and Christmas Carols.
The SVP is encouraging businesses to get involved and help raise funds for people and families who are struggling this Christmas.
If you are in need of help this coming winter or would like to donate, please visit the Saint Vincent de Paul website for more information.