Saturday, August 20, 2011

SVP says floods and state caused cash crisis SVP says floods and state caused cash crisis

THE St Vincent de Paul’s Cork financial crisis is the direct result of the November 2009 floods which hit the city and the complete lack of state help for the self-employed, it has been claimed.

Speaking after the Irish Examiner revealed the group’s Cork section is facing financial ruin early next year, the regional president of the charity, Brendan Dempsey, said this is mainly due to the two crises.

Mr Dempsey said the group has seen a 43% rise in contacts compared with the 30,000 people it helped last year, with a large number seeking support because of flood-related costs.

Those who are self-employed but are struggling to make ends meet are also increasingly calling for financial support as, under state rules, they are not automatically entitled to receive social welfare.

"That’s a national disgrace, hari-kari if I may say, because these people have built the country up," said Mr Dempsey. "A builder might be able to have eight to 10 people working for him, but if a big contractor won’t pay him he can’t employ those same people.

"His workers will receive help, but he’s entitled to nothing, absolutely nothing. So, for them, we are putting food on the table and paying the electricity.

"They can argue [with the state] for supplementary social welfare, but they don’t always get it," he told RTÉ radio.

Mr Dempsey said the ongoing problems caused by the November 2009 floods — which caused €141 million in damage — are also continuing to wreak havoc on the lives of people in Ireland’s second city.

"We’re still helping families after that event. We’re still paying to help them get loans to pay off the difference between the insurance benefit they received and the costs of the damage.

"That caused €141m in damages overnight, can you imagine, and the state doesn’t appear to want to get to the bottom of it."

As a result of these two issues, the Cork branch of St Vincent de Paul is at risk of running out of money early next year if the region has another bad winter — a situation not replicated in other parts of the country.

Mr Dempsey made the comments after the Irish Examiner revealed that the regional office of the charity will not be able to fund its work from the start of next year if the existing surge in those seeking help continues.

The group spent €5m on support for those in need last year but, despite building up funding reserves during the Celtic Tiger years, it is now effectively "living off church-door collections".

* St Vincent de Paul, main office: 01-8386990

* Charity registration number: CHY6892