Irish charities are experiencing a recruitment crisis. The Society of St Vincent de Paul, the biggest in the State, says it could do with "a few thousand more" volunteers.
The Simon Community, which runs housing projects and emergency night shelters for the homeless in Dublin, Cork, Galway and Dundalk, needs a corps of 30 full-time volunteers. This year it has 17.
Mr Owen Keenan, chief executive of Barnardos, said it was increasingly difficult to attract volunteers.
The SVDP's national secretary, Ms Columba Faulkner, told The Irish Times the charity was having a particular problem attracting young volunteers. "We are concerned at the ageing profile of our volunteers," she said. "People in their 50s have a lot to offer and are very motivated, but we would like to see more people from the 20-to-35 age group."
As a result of its difficulties, the Simon Community has had to take on more paid staff, says its recruitment co-ordinator, Ms Anne O'Donovan. The majority of Simon's full-time volunteers are now from overseas. "In 1994 about two-thirds of our volunteers were Irish," Ms O'Donovan said. "That figure now is about 28 per cent. If it wasn't for the overseas sector things really would be difficult."
Barnardos has 300 volunteers working with children and in its five shops. "It is very difficult to attract enough people to work in the shops, and the volunteers we have are increasingly stretched," said Mr Keenan. "We would like about 100 more volunteers, spread throughout the country."
Although the charity is managing at present, Mr Keenan is worried that its services may have to be cut back if more people do not come forward. "We run a special-needs centre in Tallaght, which supports young people with disabilities. There are two paid staff supported by volunteers." He described this as a service where volunteers were absolutely necessary to survive.
Oxfam, which runs 16 shops throughout the State, needs "as many volunteers as we can get", said Ms Helen Hempenstall, who manages 10 of the shops. She has been with the charity since 1982 and told The Irish Times: "It is absolutely more difficult to get volunteers than it was a few years ago."
Ms O'Donovan dates the fall-off in the number of Simon's Irish volunteers to 1994. "It seems to have coincided with the economic boom," she said. "I suppose there is so much more pressure on young people to work hard and they feel they can't give the commitment."
Ms Faulkner also blamed increased prosperity for the dearth of volunteers. "People have more money," she said. "They are working a lot harder and are socialising more. They are getting more caught up in other things. And there is a lot more pressure on young people now to compete in the workplace as well as pay high rents and mortgages."
All the charities stressed the rewarding nature of volunteer work, describing the decreasing number of people coming forward as "a loss for everyone".
While donations to charities have not fallen over the past five years, they have remained static at about £3.5 million per year during a period when the average disposable income has risen by 22 per cent.
