Irish Examiner view: Help fellow citizens in a broken world

'We’ve been out on Christmas Eve with toys for families who wouldn’t have had anything for their children the next day,' said regional SVP president Mary Waide.

All the ambient noise is about Omicron, and whether the R rate does this or the infection rate does that or the fatality rate does the other thing. But it is a capital mistake to theorise without data, as Conan Doyle once forced his imaginary detective Sherlock Holmes to acknowledge. “One begins to twist facts to suit theories, instead of theories to suit facts,” said the sleuth of Baker Street in A Scandal in Bohemia.

Given that Omicron is a developing story and the evidence about the severity of the danger it poses remains unvalidated, we should spare some valuable time to consider those of our fellow citizens who face tangible problems, here and now.

The Society of St Vincent de Paul (SVP), Ireland’s largest charity, with 13,000 members, may have thought that one day the demands on its services and friendly support may start to decline. But this week it reported more than 200,000 calls for help in 2021, up from 170,000 in 2020.

Warning signs

Depressingly, last year’s figures were more than double the requests received 10 years earlier, indicating that poverty and deprivation, far from being driven into retreat, is advancing at a dramatic speed, a view which is being reflected by other charities who say the number of approaches is unprecedented. One in four calls is being made from someone who has never requested help before. These are all warning signs for a society which, if it is not yet broken, may well become so.

Pleas for assistance cover staples such as fuel, food, education, and, of course at this time of year, gifts for Christmas. With inflation surging away to 5.1%, its highest level in Ireland for 14 years, and soaring energy costs forecast for 2022, then the only way is up for the cost of living. This threatens ill for people on low fixed incomes or State support and other vulnerable categories.

Regional SVP president Mary Waide said some people who contact the organisation “literally have nothing”.

“We’ve been out on Christmas Eve with toys for families who wouldn’t have had anything for their children the next day,” she said. “They are grateful — and I don’t like using that word. It gives us great satisfaction to help people, and sometimes St Vincent de Paul is the only port of call.”

This Saturday, December 18, the Irish Examiner will be donating 20c from every copy sold to St Vincent de Paul. It’s a win-win for readers who will avail of the opportunity to read a great newspaper and simultaneously make Christmas better for many people who deserve a helping hand. Make sure you reserve your copy today.