Ahern disputes charity’s poverty figures

TAOISEACH Bertie Ahern has challenged claims by the Society of St Vincent de Paul (SVP) that there are 300,000 children living in families on incomes of less than €175 per week.

Mr Ahern dismissed the figures yesterday claiming that official statistics failed to reflect the true level of income for social welfare recipients.

Launching the charity’s annual “Giving Tree” appeal at the Omni Park shopping centre in Santry, the Taoiseach said the Government provided “significant assistance” to many homes, including double payments at Christmas.

“There’s not those kind of figures,” said Mr Ahern. “The official figures of what people actually got in money terms do not show that.”

However, the charity’s area president, Pat Sheehy, insisted its claims about families living on a weekly income of 175 were accurate.

Mr Sheehy said calls to the society had almost doubled during 2003, as many people experienced financial hardship for the first time. In particular, volunteers have noticed a sharp rise in calls for assistance from middle-income families, such as people operating small businesses.

The SVP has recorded a 94% increase in the number of callers to its offices since January, with over 7,600 families seeking financial assistance.

“The figures are going through the roof. We expect the number will have increased to over 10,000 callers before the end of Christmas,” said Mr Sheehy.

Because of the growing number of families experiencing financial difficulties, Mr Sheehy said the charity had increased its assistance budget by 25% in several parts of Dublin.

Mr Sheehy praised the Taoiseach for his help in promoting the charity’s “Giving Tree” appeal, although the SVP has been highly critical of the Government for announcing 58 million worth of cuts in social welfare payments in the recent Book of Estimates.

Earlier this month, the SVP vice-president, Prof John Monaghan, said the decision made “a nonsense of any argument from the Government that they are serious about tackling child poverty”.

Yesterday’s ceremony in Santry was also interrupted by around a dozen members of the anti-bin tax campaign from the Cabra/Navan Road area, who called on the Taoiseach to release seven of their colleagues from jail.

“Shame on you, Bertie,” called out one protester.

However, several parents reacted angrily at attempts by the group to interrupt the launch of the campaign.

“Don’t spoil it for the kids,” shouted one father.

The “Giving Tree” appeal invites customers to buy presents for children and leave them for collection under the Christmas Tree at the Omni Park shopping centre from where they are distributed by SVP to needy families at Christmas.

The “Giving Tree”, now in its tenth year, collected over €70,000 worth of toys last year.