Mortgages leading to rise in poverty - SVP

from RTE News

The Society of St Vincent de Paul said it is dealing with an increasing number of people who have fallen into poverty because of excessive mortgage commitments.

President of the Society Mairéad Bushnell said poverty in Ireland has now become a hidden problem because people may live in their own home but cannot afford to eat.

She said some of the people experiencing problems are in good jobs, but the mortgage repayments are crippling them.

Ms Bushnell said they should not have been given the home loans in the first place.

She said she would not be able to put a figure on how many are in that category because it is a new phenomenon for the charity and a problem they never thought they would have to deal with.

Launching its annual appeal for public donations for Christmas, Ms Bushnell said the charity spent over €3.5m every month last year fighting poverty and disadvantage.

The charity spent over €42m last year, which is the most it has ever spent.

It received €26m in donations from the Irish public in 2006.