29 November 2024
By Mary Bermingham
mary@TheCork.ie
Severe strain on resources as social welfare Budget increases “insufficient” to help those in need
At the launch of their Annual Car Draw, St. Vincent De Paul (SVP) South-West has warned that exorbitant food and fuel costs are pushing struggling families and individuals to the brink of despair as calls for assistance have skyrocketed in recent weeks.
With the cost-of-living crisis deepening, the charity is reporting that more people than ever are seeking help in the run up to the festive and winter season, with over 4,645 calls for help from struggling families and individuals in Cork during the month of October.
This is expected to reach a peak of over 1,650 calls per week in December as the Society has revealed significant numbers of people in Cork are reaching out to them seeking assistance as they struggle to cope with sky-high costs for food and basic utilities, coupled with consistently high energy and fuel costs.
The charity has also said that recent increases announced in this years’ Budget for social welfare recipients were just enough to “paper over the cracks” but are not sufficient in the long-term for people who are unemployed or lower-income earners.
Speaking at the launch of the Annual Car Draw, SVP South-West’s Regional President, Mary Frances Behan, said the charity remains under enormous pressure across all of their core services with the numbers of people seeking assistance continuing to rise, particularly during the run up to Christmas.
“We have received an unprecedented number of calls for this time of year and from all walks of life, including but not limited to; pensioners, social welfare and disability recipients, carers and those on lower-paid employment.
Food and energy costs are the primary concern for callers, with SVP providing fuel assistance to vulnerable families and individuals in Cork during the winter months.
“Energy and food costs remain stubbornly high and a source of anxiety for callers, and impact our funds as we must provide extra to ensure those we support can heat their homes and put food on their tables”.
SVP recommended in a pre-budget submission that social welfare recipients should receive an increase of a minimum of €20 per week to match 2019 levels, however, the Government only increased payments by €12, meaning there is still some way to go to bridge the gap as people are still struggling massively,” she added.
“The overriding theme we are seeing this year is that, in addition to struggling and vulnerable people, the cost-of-living crisis is really squeezing lower and even middle-income workers as their expenses continue to rise whilst their earnings remain the same.
We are receiving calls from people who are in despair every day as they struggle they with exorbitant living expenses for them and their families,” she remarked.
80% of SVP’s core fundraising is conducted during the October to December period The Annual Car Draw remains a key fundraising event for SVP South-West across Cork.
Regional President Mary Frances Behan said that this year, the Car Draw remains a critical and essential fundraiser for the charity to help them to continue assisting people throughout Cork.
Ms Behan said:
“The public has always been extremely generous to the Society here in Cork.
“We are consistently humbled and blown away by the support the Car Draw receives every year and we are extremely grateful for all tickets purchased or donations received.
“However, we are deeply concerned about the impact of the cost of living, food and fuel costs and the pressure it has placed on our core services.
“The funds raised from the Annual Car Draw are vital to enable us to help as many people as possible.
“It has been another exceptionally challenging year for SVP but particularly for the families and individuals we support. We depend on the generosity of our many donors and we’re asking them to support us once again, if possible, in the coming weeks.
“Our fundraising needs remain consistently high, and we are once again turning to online appeals for the Annual Car Draw. We are extremely grateful for any support that we receive. Each and every donation will make a difference, and we want to take this opportunity
to thank the people of Cork for all their support this year to date,” Ms. Behan added.
“We would also like to express our sincere thanks to Francis Brennan for his support campaign this year. We’d also like to extend our thanks to Bishop Fintan Gavin, the Bishop of Cork and Ross, Bishop William Crean, the Bishop of Cloyne, and Bishop Ray Browne,
the Bishop of Kerry for their donations and long-standing support of the Car Draw every year,” she concluded.
In addition to supporting families, in the run up to and throughout the festive period, the charity continues to provide up to 5,442 homes across Cork and Kerry with regular coal deliveries throughout the winter and are delivered approx. 18,660 food hampers
last year to families in need through the SVP Cork and Kerry Hamper Projects.
Last year, over 27,314 families and individuals were contacted and supported by SVP volunteers in Cork and Kerry and Jason Boyle, South-West Regional Vice President and Area President for East Cork echoed Ms. Behan’s comments. He said:
“We continue to find new ways to contact and help the families and individuals we assist and have overcome many challenges to do so. This would not be possible without the generous support of the public, and we really do appreciate it.
We remain committed to ensuring that all families and individuals who need our help will be supported irrespective of the challenges that we face.
The Annual SVP South-West Car Draw 2024 is a key fundraising event for the region, with tickets and free post return envelopes delivered to every household in Cork and Kerry and the added option of buying tickets online. Donations are also welcome through both
channels.”
Tickets for the raffle cost €5 each, a bundle of five tickets costs €20 and these can be purchased online at the following link:
www.svp.ie/cardraw24
Alternatively, freepost SVP envelopes can be returned in or dropped into the SVP Regional Office at Ozanam House, 2 Tuckey Street, Cork or Unit 2 Monavalley Business Park, Tralee, Co Kerry.
The final date for entries will be 12 noon on Friday 10th January 2025.
First prize will be a brand-new Ford Focus. In addition to this there will be six other cash prizes.
The draw will take on Wednesday 15th January at Cork City Ford Centre, with the Lord Mayor of Cork Cllr. Dan Boyle in attendance where the winners will be announced.
Details of the winners will be published on www.SVP.ie and in the Irish Examiner Saturday 18th January 2025.