Over 100,000 people are expected to seek the help of the Society of St Vincent de Paul (SVP) between now and Christmas - a 25 per cent increase on last year.
The withdrawal of the social welfare Christmas Bonus would put many struggling families under "extreme pressure" in the coming weeks, SVP national president Mairead Bushnell said.
"We are also fearful that the forthcoming budget will add to the difficulties being experienced by the most vulnerable in our society and are appealing to the Irish people to support our work," she said.
Services provided by the SVP are currently costing more than €1 million per week.
Last year the SVP spent €27m spent on direct assistance to individuals and families including €9.4m on direct financial support, €6.1m on food, €3.8m on education support and €3.8m on helping people with their energy bills.
The society is seeing a particular increase in the numbers of people seeking food this year, according to Ms Bushnell. "For the first time in 20 to 25 years people are actually looking for food. It's a surprise because we had almost given up giving out food,” she said. “Years ago shopping for food for people was a big part of what we did, but it had almost died out."
The recent flooding was also putting increased demands on the society's services, she said, and was increasing the number of first-time users of the SVP.
Ms Bushnell was speaking at the launch today of the society's annual appeal. The main fundraising element of the appeal is SVP Week, which will be held from December 6th-13th, culminating in a national church gate collection.
Another major initiative is the SVP Giving Tree campaign, which asks people to buy a gift for someone who may not get one otherwise this Christmas. These will be distributed by SVP volunteers. Giving Trees will be positioned in shopping centres and all cinemas showing A Christmas Carolthroughout Ireland.
Contributions to the SVP Annual Appeal can be made by calling 01 8386990 or one of the Regional Offices. Or log on to www.svp.ie and click on "Donate Now".
