Cruel poverty in a rich country - Queueing for Christmas food

At least 2,500 people queued for Christmas food parcels at just one support centre in Dublin yesterday morning. 

A long, patient line of people began to gather before 8am at the Capuchin Centre at Bow St, where, according to Br Kevin Crowley, the queue was “bigger than last year”.

This is just one of many public or private initiatives designed to help those who, for whatever reason fate decrees, need material support at this time of the year. This organisation, and many others like it, deal with the consequences of personal difficulties, poverty, homelessness or any of the other tragedies most of us imagine we are immune to. No matter how it is dressed up this kind of intervention, this level of need, should not be so pressing in Ireland of 2016.