Two hungry children found scavenging bins in city centre
The two five-year-olds were found rooting through a bin on High Street by a local social worker.
She contacted the HSE directly about the case.
According to President of the Kilkenny branch of the St Vincent de Paul, Liam Heffernan, there are now levels of poverty comparable to the Third World in the south-eastern city.
Mr Heffernan said that the arrival of unprecedented Arctic conditions so early in the winter was the charity’s “worst nightmare”.
“If the freezing weather continues there is a big fear that people could die. We are trying to get fuel out to people who are desperately in need,” he added.
“I have never seen conditions so bad. People are going hungry and are in desperate need of fuel and there is a real chance that there could be an awful tragedy if people don’t act,” he told the Kilkenny People.
“Earlier this year people ran up huge heating and electricity bills because of the freezing weather and many of them are still in debt struggling to repay them.
“People who were previously our donors are now our recipients. There are people who have no heating or fuel or money to get either,” he said.
The HSE would not comment on what has happened to the two children found searching bins for food but said while “referrals about children foraging in bins is not common, it would not be grounds alone for taking children into HSE care”.
“However it would raise concerns of neglect which the HSE would investigate,” the spokesman said.
Mr Heffernan said there has also been a 100% increase in the number of families seeking help from the charity, with the number of families contacting the charity increasing from 300 to 600 families.
The charity spent €250,000 in the city last year and estimates that it will spend in excess of €400,000 this year.
“This year, two of the four conferences [the charity is broken down into different areas or conferences] went broke for the first time in my memory and I have been involved with the charity for the past 30 years.
“We badly need money, especially in the run-up to Christmas. The weather and economic circumstances means that some people are in a very bad way. I visited a mother and her two children recently and she had only €35 for the week and very little fuel for heating,” he added.
A nationwide churchgate collection for the St Vincent de Paul will take place this weekend around the country.
