Demand on SVP rises as funds fall

Church gate collections are up 11% on last year, the St Vincent de Paul Society in Cork said, but calls are up by 30%.

SVP southern president Brendan Dempsey said the public was “extremely generous”, but that he was still “very apprehensive” about the future.

“Although our church collections are up, our calls are up 30% and the types of calls we are getting are costing us a lot more than they used to because of their complex nature,” he said.