The National Council for the Blind has opened its first charity pop-up shop on Grafton Street in Dublin.

The shop, called Re:Newed, will sell high quality designer stock donated by Irish designers and will be open until the end of the month.

The charity said the Covid-19 pandemic led to the temporary closure of all 115 stores across the country for 19 weeks throughout 2020, which has resulted in a loss of sales totalling €4.6m to fund essential frontline services to people who are blind or vision impaired.

While the NCBI received extra Government funding of €500,000, it said there is still a shortfall and demand for NCBI services remains high.

The national association of charities, The Wheel, is predicting a funding shortfall of around €400m for the whole charity sector by the end of this year.  

A recent survey conducted by the organisation indicated that charities are facing serious uncertainty about their income next year, and many are still dealing with the effects of a collapse in earned and fundraised income this year. 

82% of the charities surveyed were very concerned about whether they will have sufficient funds to provide their services next year, while 50% reported an increase in demand for their services this year.