Ahern told why there are fewer volunteers

THE Taoiseach recently voiced his concern regarding the decline in volunteers in our society.

Has it occurred to him that for too long the value of their work has not been recognised or appreciated by government?

I am a volunteer with Support After Homicide. We are a national organisation — the only one giving support to families who have been bereaved by homicide.

We provide emotional support and practical information on a one-to-one basis in the person’s own home or some other mutually acceptable venue. We offer a service every day of the week. In the past year our volunteers gave 5,000 hours of their time to help families bereaved by homicide.

We receive some funding from the Commission for the Victims of Crime. This provides for professional supervision, training and travelling expenses for volunteers (at a much lower rate than paid to civil servants).

We have no premises or paid staff. What makes our task difficult is that we do not know from year to year what our funding will be, and so planning is very difficult. Mr Ahern should take a look at what support Government is giving to voluntary organisations before he talks about selfish people.

Rita O’Quigley

PRO

Support After Homicide

Kilmeaney

Carlow