SVP: Some people 'simply cannot afford food'
The Society of the St Vincent de Paul is helping 8,000 families every week and is seeing increasing numbers of people seeking food.
Launching its pre-budget submission in Dublin this morning, the organisation said that those on low incomes cannot take any more cuts.
The Vincent de Paul is putting 30 recommendations to the Government, ranging from maintaining the current child benefit payment to withdrawing the 50 cent prescription charge for medical card holders.
"The level of problems are becoming more complex," said Geoff Meagher, national president of the SVP.
"On one side, they are more complex in the context of debt and the struggle to pay bills, on the other side we're back to the basics
"In some situations where people simply cannot afford food and we're actually in a position where we’re both supplying food and, indeed, supplying vouchers for food, to a lot of the people that we help."
The submission it also called on the Government to collect tax in "a fair and progressive manner which does not create poverty or unemployment traps, nor worsen the situation of those in employment who are struggling to get by."
