Former millionaires relying on SVP to feed families

Former millionaires who have been ruined by the recession are relying on the St Vincent de Paul to feed their families.

The Cork region is helping “several” one-time top earners. Brendan Dempsey, SVP regional vice-president, said big houses could hide a lot of misery.

“We would have several coming to us,” said Mr Dempsey. “A couple of years ago they were in the millionaire bracket and now they’re broke and they don’t have food on the table. They have no income and no choice but to come to us.”

He said the formerly wealthy were treated with the same respect as any caller, and often needed extra reassurance because of the shock they felt at having to ask for charity.

“We met a woman last week who told us she spent a whole week walking past the office before she came in,” said Mr Dempsey. “She was well educated and well got and she couldn’t believe it had come to this.

“But there’s no shame in it. The only shame is the way they’re treated by the State because they’re entitled to nothing if they’ve been self-employed. They can be waiting two years for a social welfare payment. These are people who ran businesses and provided jobs and bought Irish goods and paid PRSI and then, when things go bad, they’re on their own.”

Requests for help in Cork rose 30% last year and are said to be higher this year, leaving the SVP to find over €8m for food, fuel, clothes, and other essentials.

Mr Dempsey said there was no contingency fund left for exceptional costs.

“If Cork floods again, we will not have the cash to help,” he said. “The last floods cost us €400,000 and we haven’t that kind of cash any more.”