Cost-of-living crisis in Cork is hitting hard this Christmas

THE St Vincent de Paul (SVP) and Depaul charities both received an increased number of calls for financial and food support across Cork in 2025, including from families, and from students looking for support with third-level costs.

Homelessness figures reached a record national high at the end of October, with 16,766 people, including more than 5,270 children, accessing emergency accommodation, and with both charities facing significant pressure.

Of the 16,766 adults accessing emergency accommodation between October 20 and October 26, 712 were in Cork city and county, which was 5.5% more than the previous month, and 27% more than in October of 2024. Nationally, some 2,484 families accessed emergency accommodation during the same week in October, including 5,274 children.

Of those families, 109 were in the south-west, including 230 children, representing an increase of 7% on the previous month, and 5% higher than in October of last year.

Speaking to The Echo, SVP South West’s regional co-ordinator Cormac O’Sullivan said the number of calls for support this year was “higher than anticipated, and much busier than previous years”.

Mr O’Sullivan said SVP’s office on Tuckey St received more than 13,500 calls for assistance, representing a 20% increase on the calls received by the charity’s Cork branch in 2024.

However, Mr O’Sullivan said those figures are “actually higher in reality”, due to volunteers being contacted directly, bringing that figure “anywhere between 15,000 and 20,000”.

“This year was certainly busier than many people can remember,” said Mr O’Sullivan.

“It’s hard to pinpoint exactly why, but I think everyone is feeling the pinch.

“The people who were contacting us this year, the dynamic is changing.

“Those looking for assistance were individuals who have never looked for it before, while we were also assisting those that would.

“People with two jobs are coming looking for assistance, even if it was just for a food voucher, so those situations are certainly increasing the calls.

“With the money in Cork that was given out, we’re looking at about €4m in total, with 50% of that going on food hampers and vouchers,” Mr O’Sullivan said.

“This Christmas, especially, we have seen an increase in calls,” he added.

“With the experience of years gone by, we try to get as much assistance out there in the weeks leading up to Christmas, so that people don’t have to make those calls on Christmas Day.

“In Cork city alone, there are 3,500 food hampers going out this month, and that’s with a ham and a chicken, and some essentials from your Christmas shop.

“On top of that, we had the Giving Tree, where more than 50 companies in Cork responded to our Santa appeal, so we’ve spent the last number of weeks gathering donated toys and distributing them throughout the county.

“Everyone comes together, there’s a really good network that help out and make sure those in need at Christmas get support before Christmas Day.”

Mr O’Sullivan said that, additionally, in Cork this year, there were 189 applicants for the SVP third-level education bursary, of which 141 were awarded, with the charity committing €420,000 for the academic year.

“We have an education bursary for third-level education, where we assist students with that bit of a helping hand, whether its for books, rent, or transport to and from college,” said Mr O’Sullivan.

“Over the last two years, we’ve seen the biggest increase in demand for the bursary.

“It is surprising to see the number of applicants, but it’s a great initiative, and while the demand is probably higher [than the number of those awarded], we help as many students as we can within the restraints of that budget.”

Looking ahead to 2026, Mr O’Sullivan said he expects that the number of calls will not reduce as “the challenges that are here in 2025 will, unfortunately, remain in 2026”.

“It’s anyone’s guess, really, in terms of the calls. We didn’t expect the 20% jump in 2025,” said Mr O’Sullivan.

“All we can do is plan for an increase and help those who need it in any way we can.”

Director of services and development at Depaul, Dermot Murphy, said 2025 was “the busiest year ever in Cork”.

“We saw a significant number of individuals who were homeless, and a significant level of complexity: There were a lot of young people,” said Mr Murphy.

“In some ways, it’s been a very successful year for us, but it’s getting harder.

“Our volunteers go above and beyond, and I can’t tell them enough how grateful we are.

“In 2025, we supported 79 people to move into new homes, and, for Cork, that’s a big number,” Mr Murphy said.

“We also worked with 455 individuals across our residential and community-based services, which is an increase on the number of people from last year, but we did expand our services this year, and expected to see those numbers showing up,” he said.

“We certainly see a number of people coming through to us at Christmas time; you definitely see an increase this time of the year.

“This period can be hard for people, and, psychologically, it can leave people feeling quite vulnerable.” Looking ahead to 2026, Mr Murphy said he predicts Depaul will “definitely see more service users in Cork than we’ve seen this year”, but his hope is that the service will assist “an even greater number” of people exiting homelessness.

“We know there’s a lot of work being done to abate the homelessness crisis, but particularly in Cork, I would expect we will be asked to do more next year,” said Mr Murphy.

“Donations this year are down a little bit on last year, but it’s harder for everybody at the moment.

“I do want to say thank you to everyone for all the support this year

“People can get fatigued about hearing the homelessness figures going up, but I think it’s really important that we stay strong on this and don’t stop seeing this for the crisis that it is.”

Both Mr O’Sullivan and Mr Murphy asked for members of the public to take part in the charities’ respective fundraising efforts, which are currently active, including the SVP car raffle, which is closing on January 9, and the Depaul Home for Christmas campaign.