St Vincent de Paul is receiving 30 calls an hour from parents unable to meet back to school expenses for this academic year.
The charity reported that increasing amounts of parents require assistance due to inflation, with about half of all calls coming from single parent families. The most commonly raised concerns include anxieties over paying for food and electricity bills alongside school costs due to the increased cost of living.
Rose McGowan, the national president of St Vincent de Paul, told RTÉ’s Morning Ireland that use of the charity’s services went up by about 20 per cent over the month of August. She says that their helpline has been “inundated” with calls and that families are under immense pressure.
