Barnardos have said there is a wider uptake of food vouchers from their charity as cost of living pressures pile up on families.
The charity welcomed recent news about free school meals being introduced in Deis schools later this year. The plans, which will come into effect this September, also promise a free school meal in all schools by 2030.
Barnardos Ireland's policy manager Stephen Moffatt welcomed the recently announced recommendations. However, he also cautioned that the charity has witnessed worrying trends amongst families as inflation spikes.
READ MORE: Cost of living Ireland: Protestors take to the streets as eviction ban ends
He told Dublin Live: "We provide food vouchers to families and we see families proactively coming forward now looking for them. In the past, we’d have to decide which families were most in need but that's becoming more difficult now because a lot of families are in the same boat."
The report outlining free school meal plans, which was backed by the Department of Social Protection, stated that every child should receive one free nutritional meal at school. Stephen said the recommendation was a positive step forward but acknowledged that not all children facing deprivation would be tailored for under the immediate plans.
He added: "Not all children experiencing disadvantage go to Deis schools. A lot of issues surrounding children and food stem from families not having enough money to provide kids with foods they'd like and this could be addressed if more supports were brought in."
He also said that the lifting of the eviction ban was causing undue pressure for families. Although Barnardos does not exclusively deal with families facing economic problems, the charity is now spending more time trying to secure housing amid the current crisis.
Stephen said: "People who are in tenancies are terrified of losing them and they don’t feel secure about how long they’ll be there. A lot of people might be ok- a landlord might not be sending in a letter but they do still feel the threat of potential eviction."
Barnardos previously expressed concern at CSO figures, which showed that almost one in five two parent families were experiencing deprivation. Additionally, the research pointed to more than one in five lone parent families struggling to keep warm due to the energy crisis last winter.
READ MORE
- Cost of living Ireland: Special needs assistants 'living in fear' amid housing and inflation crisis
- Cost of living: Protestor personally affected by eviction ban speaks out
- Social welfare Ireland: Exact date Fuel Allowance to end with payments to resume in September
- Cost of living: Trinity students protest against dining rules at college canteen
- I have no option but to close my small business due to rising costs'
Sign up to the Dublin Live Newsletter to get all the latest Dublin news straight to your inbox.
