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Local SVdP to help over 500 families this Christmas

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BY MICHELLE CREAN

Kind-hearted St Vincent de Paul volunteers are this week working flat out every day preparing over 500 food hampers in time for Christmas - to those in need in South Kerry - including 300 in the Killarney area alone.

Food, fuel, toys and clothes are high on the priority list for most, and those affected include all ages from families to older people, as well as single people living alone.

According to the newly released data from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) this week, nearly 16 percent of households in Ireland were at risk of poverty in 2017.

This week, Bridget O’Shea, SVdP President of the Killarney area which includes two conferences in Killarney town, Firies, Rathmore, Boherbue, Millstreet, Kenmare and Castletownbere, said the charity is inundated with calls for help - especially at this time of the year.

Over the last few weeks Bridget and her team of dedicated volunteers have been putting together food hampers mainly made up of non-perishable items, wrapping toys for babies and young children, gathering together new items of clothing also for the children, organising vouchers for those aged 10 to teens, and donating food vouchers to families which will allow them buy fresh food days before Christmas.

“All the conferences have been working flat out,” Bridget told the Killarney Advertiser.

“They are inundated with calls for food, fuel and toys. Heating is a huge issue and calls for fuel are way up.”

She added that there’s a poverty out there that people aren’t seeing.

“Our thing is to put food on the table. There is an absolute increase in calls this time of year from struggling families, single and older people living alone feeling lonely and isolated, and those of different nationalities.

“There’s a lot of middle class people that are too proud to ask but that’s changing a little bit.”

She said that the charity has received huge support from local businesses, schools and individual people over the last few weeks.

“We want to thank all our fundraisers. We had a lot of companies in town who donated boxes of food, hotels did giving trees and schools donated toys. We wouldn’t be able to manage without the generosity of the benefactors.”

 

[caption id="attachment_24166" align="aligncenter" width="5184"] Volunteers with St Vincent de Paul are this week busy putting together and delivering food hampers to over 500 families and individuals in the Killarney/South Kerry areas in time for Christmas Day. Pictured were: Bridget O'Shea (President of SVdP Killarney Area), Patricia Lyne ((Secretary of the Killarney Area), Breda Dwyer (President of St Bridget's Conference), Dymphna Horgan (SVdP Member) and Mary Healy (Treasurer).[/caption]

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Contactless payments launched on Local Link services

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Passengers using TFI Local Link Kerry services in Killarney and across the county can now pay for their journeys using contactless card payments.

The National Transport Authority (NTA) confirmed the rollout this week, allowing commuters to simply tap their debit card, credit card, or mobile devices, such as Apple Pay and Google Pa, when boarding.

The move is designed to offer more convenience for those using high-frequency rural and regional routes.

In Killarney, the new payment option will be available on the TFI Anseo town services, which have seen a significant increase in passenger numbers since their introduction.

The contactless system is currently available for single journey fares, while those using daily or weekly passes can continue to use the Leap website or the TFI Leap Top Up App.
Alan O’Connell, General Manager of TFI Local Link Kerry, welcomed the modernisation of the fleet.

“The introduction of contactless payments is another welcome step forward for public transport in Kerry,” he said. “It complements other major projects in the county, including the expansion of TFI Local Link services and the delivery of TFI Anseo in Killarney, which is proving to be another great initiative.”

While the new technology offers a modern alternative, traditional payment methods are not being phased out. Cash payments, TFI Leap cards, and Free Travel Cards all remains fully valid across the network.

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How will our Kerry TDs vote tomorrow?

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Tomorrow, Sinn Féin will be tabling a motion of no confidence against the Government after the protests that took place nationwide during the week.

Earlier today we asked our readers how would they vote in a no confidence motion against the Government?

Most of our readers said they would vote no confidence, while some said, yes they do have confidence in the Government.

One reader said: “Vote confidence. The only proper leadership over the last few days came from government. Courage came when needed despite how unpopular it looked in the moment. By contrast, opposition politicians wanted the country to burn to suit themselves”.

Another reader stated: “No confidence. Shambolic and heavy handed handling of protests this past week”.

However, some people didn’t have any confidence in either side with a reader saying: “No confidence in the no confidence! Different wings of the same bird! We need a complete overhaul of the political system”.

We asked the question to our 5 Kerry TDs before lunch-time today, asking them what their vote will be tomorrow.

We received one reply from Sinn Féin’s Kerry TD Pa Daly.

He will be voting no confidence in the Government tomorrow along with his party.

Other media outlets are reporting that Independent TD Danny Healy-Rae is undecided at the moment.

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