Calls for help to SVP increase by 7%

Previously unseen levels of demand for food, toys, and help with bills show that not everybody is feeling the effects of an economic turnaround, says the Society of St Vincent de Paul.

It had a 7% increase in calls for help to about 10,000 last month from families in Dublin, Kildare and Wicklow, compared to November 2014.

While there has been a very generous public response to appeals for donations over the past month, the society now expects to assist more than 140,000 people. That was the figure it anticipated helping over a six-week period when its Christmas appeal was launched a month ago.