The president of a Catholic charity, which helps the poor in their homes, has called on the Irish government to avoid making cuts on those in Ireland’s society who are already having financial troubles.

Geoff Meagher, president of the St. Vincent de Paul (VdeP) society, in Ireland, told those at a pre-Budget 2013, that those people his charity help will not be able to cope with further cuts. The upcoming budget has already been promised to be a hard blow to the Irish people, with further austerity cuts.

He said the society is helping 8,000 families per week in Ireland and an increasing number of these are people seeking food. The VdeP is putting forward 30 recommendations to the Irish Government.

Meagher said, “The level of problems are becoming more complex.

"On one side, they are more complex in the context of debt and the struggle to pay bills, on the other side we're back to the basics.

"In some situations where people simply cannot afford food and we're actually in a position where we’re both supplying food and, indeed, supplying vouchers for food, to a lot of the people that we help."

The VdeP is calling on the Government to collect tax in “a fair and progressive manner which does not create poverty or unemployment traps, nor worsen the situation of those in employment who are struggling to get by."

St. Vincent de Paul also published a booklet including 13 different case studies. It claims to demonstrate the effects of budgetary cuts on those who are already struggling.

In one of the case studies a mother moves cans of food from the cupboard to the fridge to make the family think they have more food that they actually have.

The group has also called on an introduction of a minimum pricing for alcohol, including a social responsibility levy, RTE report. They have said the $0.64c (€0.50c) prescription charge to Medical Card holders should be withdrawn.

They have also sought a meeting with Minister for Social Protection Joan Burton to ensure there will be no further cuts to one-parent families in this year’s budget.