IRELAND’S RELIGIOUS LEADERS have called for the Government to provide more support for people struggling with the cost-of-living crisis.

Church figureheads said they are “deeply concerned by what they are seeing on the ground” in communities across the island.

They highlighted incidents of requesting food from food banks that can be eaten with cooking, as they cannot afford the electricity to do.

The leaders have called for more practical support to be delivered “urgently” through direct government initiatives in both jurisdictions and also via grassroots charity and community partnerships.

The joint statement was issued by leaders of the Irish Council of Churches, the Irish Presbyterian Church, the Church of Ireland, the Roman Catholic Church in Ireland and the Methodist Church in Ireland.

“Projections for the autumn point to the situation worsening while too many people are already struggling to afford essentials like food and fuel and are in real danger of losing their homes, health or lives,” it said. 

“As leaders of Churches with a presence across the island we are deeply concerned by what we are seeing on the ground, with the increasing energy and food prices disproportionately affecting the most vulnerable, often leaving people with impossible choices to make, missing meals, and falling into arrears on bills.”

The leaders added that they are “deeply concerned” too at the government response north and south, both short term and longer term.

“In Northern Ireland, the Good Friday Belfast Agreement created a statutory requirement for the Northern Ireland Executive to produce an anti-poverty strategy on the basis of objective need,” they said, continuing that “almost 25 years later” it has never been agreed.

“Likewise, in Ireland a cross-party anti-poverty strategy is badly needed to address issues in a comprehensive and effective manner.”