WITH petrol prices having soared to close to €1.70 per litre – and predicted to escalate further- it emerged this week that motorists are turning to the St Vincent de Paul Society to help them reach their workplace.
Filling the tank is breaking the bank for many employees and the cost of keeping a car on the road is just too much for a growing number of people, a spokesperson for the society revealed to the Limerick Post.
“Many are struggling with making ends meet but are managing by keeping to a tight budget.
“But then they just can’t cope with the extra costs…people can’t manage and come to us for a lot of reasons, for some it’s the cost of petrol or the car breaks down and they just don’t have the money to get it repaired.
“We cover a large area in Tipperary and Clare as well as Limerick and these are worrying costs if the car is vital to get you to work”.
One motorist told the Limerick Post that she parted with €55 per week in petrol to simply get to and from her workplace, in her Ford Fiesta.
Increasingly, the society is hearing from people who would always manage in the past, the spokesperson added.
“These are people who would not have been rich but wouldn’t have had to worry about paying the electricity bill. For many reasons, their income is reduced, maybe because of short time in work or pay-cuts.
“Some manage still but can’t cope with the unexpected costs. Then there is the psychological strain of having to make big adjustments in lifestyle and knowing that these are not temporary adjustments”.
What were once simple expenses, such as buying a present for a child going to a birthday party or getting Christmas gifts for family, have now become large obstacles, the spokesperson said.
Further evidence of the change in demographic of the VdeP clients is the increasing number of requests for help coming in by email.
“What we would say to people is to contact us and do it early. Often the help we can give is small enough but it can be just the little that is needed to help people carry on”.
