International aid charity Goal estimates that the number of donations made by monthly standing orders has risen by 40-50 per cent since the first Special Savings Incentive Accounts (SSIA) matured last month.
The increase follows an intensive advertising campaign by the charity to encourage savers to donate part of their "windfall". The campaign is fully sponsored, and so there is no cost to the charity.
People who have begun standing orders in recent weeks have committed to paying monthly amounts ranging from €5 to as much as €200 - roughly equivalent to what they would have paid into their SSIA accounts, according to Lisa O'Shea of Goal.
Other charities working in Ireland and in the developing world have said it is too early to say what effect, if any, the maturation of the first two batches of SSIAs has had on fundraising.
Ms O'Shea said that while she could not say if the increase in monthly donations was directly linked to SSIA money, a significant percentage was likely to come from this source.
She said the SSIA-linked campaign was the charity's only current advertising initiative here.
Goal receives funding from several sources, including governments, among them the Irish Government, as well as from once-off donations and standing orders.
"We have seen an increase in people donating to Goal monthly over the last six weeks or so, which I would attribute to the fact that we have an ad campaign out there encouraging people to support our work," she said. "It's going well."
Danny Rowan of Concern, which has also initiated a campaign aimed at SSIA account holders, said it was too early to measure the effect on donations.
The Simon Community of Ireland, which helps homeless people, has suggested that SSIA savers make a five-year commitment to the charity.