Charity in appeal to fund poverty fight

The St Vincent de Paul society is launching a major appeal for funds today after it struggled to respond to 300,000 calls for assistance last year.

The charity said it had to spend even more last year than in 2004 in fighting poverty and social disadvantage in Ireland.

As it launched its 2005 reports ahead of Christmas, it confirmed 9,200 SVP volunteers worked to respond to 300,000 appeals for assistance last year.

A spokesman said: “The Irish public also recognised the need and increased their financial support for SVP work in the year.”

During 2004, the society announced a record expenditure of more than €33.3m, with €18m spent on providing basic necessities such as food, clothing, fuel and cash assistance. Around €27.25m of the charity’s income came from the public during 2004.