Childline calls rise in recession

The recession has led to an increase of 35,000 in the number of calls being handled by the Childline service, according to the Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (ISPCC).

The service has fielded 666,529 calls from children to date this year and is expecting a surge of calls in the run up to Christmas.

The ISPCC, which runs Childline, said 777 children called the service on Christmas Day last year, but 40 per cent of calls went unanswered because of a shortage of funding.

The ISPCC is looking to raise €1 million for Childline in the run up to Christmas.

Speaking at its annual Christmas appeal this morning, chief executive Ashley Balbirnie said the charity is able to attract volunteers in good times and bad, but does not have enough money to give all volunteers the training that they need before they operate Childline.

"We are running Childline 24 hours a day every day of the year and that needs a huge infrastructure costing us between €4 million and €5 million a year and our service is exclusively funded by corporate and individual donations," he said.

Mr Balbirnie said economic problems were exasperating problems at home for many children. "We're finding calls that were more economic based than they were in the past. We hear children telling us, 'Daddy's lost his job' or 'Daddy seems to be drinking more' or 'we don't have money for this or for that'," he said.

"Children are not immune to such family tensions and worries, and for many children this stress can impact negatively on their own well-being."

He described Christmas Day as the "saddest day of the year" for many children when it should be a joyous time. For many the feelings of neglect and isolation are worst when they do not have access to their friends on Christmas Day and the sense of expectation about Christmas has been dashed.

Donations can be made through the ISPCC website www.ispcc.ie , by calling 1850 50 40 50 or by purchasing an ISPCC 'Holly badge' available nationwide for €2 through ISPCC street collections and shopping centres in the run up to Christmas.