Volunteers contribute €1 billion worth of time to Irish charities

"Without the vital work of volunteers, many Irish charities would simply have to close their doors,” says the Charities Regulator

Patrick Hopkins, Chairperson, and Helen Martin, Chief Executive, Charities Regulator at the publication of the Charities Regulator’s Annual Report.

Volunteers contributed an estimated €1 billion worth of their time to Irish charities in 2022, according to a report published last September.

The report on the Social and Economic Impact of Registered Charities in Ireland, which was compiled by the Charities Regulator and Amárach, shows that the total number of volunteering hours in Irish charities has increased by an estimated 38% between 2018 and 2022 and now stands at 94 million hours per year. The economic value of this volunteering is highly significant in that if Irish charities paid their volunteers for the time worked, the cost in 2022 would have been €0.96 billion based on the minimum wage, and almost €2.5 billion if volunteers were paid the average hourly wage.