Ireland
30% increase in requests to SVP
Monday, 23 November 2009 13:40St Vincent De Paul says it is gearing up for an avalanche of calls in the run-up to Christmas.
It is expecting around 100,000 calls for help in the four weeks between now and Christmas.
It says the withdrawal of the Christmas Bonus from pensioners and other social welfare recipients will put families who are already struggling under extreme pressure.
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Launching its annual appeal, the country's largest charity said that demands for help were up by 30% in some areas already.
It also said that one in four calls were from people new to the society.
