Disability charities see fall in donations due to Covid-19

Disability charities have raised concerns over decreases in donations and fundraising as the Covid-19 situation continues to escalate.

With measures to contain and mitigate the coronavirus continuing apace, the vast majority of impacts being seen to those charities are financial in nature.

Philip Watt, chief executive with Cystic Fibrosis Ireland (CFI), said the impact of coronavirus on the charity has been immediate, with the potential to have “a massive impact on our fundraising”.

CFI, which has now cancelled its annual conference in Galway slated for April 3-5, predominantly operates without State funding —heightening its dependence on private donations.

“There is no doubt that it will have an impact, and we are having to re-evaluate how best to respond,” Mr Watt said, adding that “the last thing” the charity would cut would be its supports and grants for its members.

It’s early days, but there was an anxiety there already,” he said. “If this disease lasts several months, we will have to calculate the risks as we go along.

The National Council for the Blind Ireland (NCBI) meanwhile said that it had noticed “a decreased volume of donations and customers to our shops across the country”.

Chris White, the NCBI’s CEO, said it had been “monitoring the situation on a daily basis and following the advice and guidelines of the HSE to the letter”.

However, the council had yet to close any frontline services or appointments, he said.

“We have introduced infectious control measures, such as availability of hand sanitisers and premises undergoing a deep cleaning.

“We would be asking any service user to self-isolate for two weeks if they do feel the onset of any symptoms,” Mr White said.

Enable Ireland, a non-profit organisation providing services to children and adults with disabilities, said its staff are “maintaining the highest hygiene standards possible”.

A spokesperson for the Irish Wheelchair Association, meanwhile, said it would be continuing “to follow the guidelines set out by the HSE with regards to supporting and managing our services”.