Volunteers give €649m in unpaid work to charities
IRISH charities are being propped up by 300,000 unpaid volunteers giving €649m worth of labour annually, a new report reveals today.
They are donating an average of 226 hours every year to the €14.5bn charity sector, according to Indecon International Economic Consultants.
The report, commissioned by Charities Regulator John Farrelly, also shows that households with retired people have the highest average weekly spend on charity donations.
They are generously providing an average of €7.08 a week, or €131.14m annually.
Overall, charities are getting public donations of €350m a year.
But it is the Government and public bodies which are the largest source of income for registered charities, accounting for more than half the total funding at €7.7bn.
Indecon looked at 5,746 charities, from large hospitals and universities to small volunteer-led organisations, providing services at community level.
Indecon estimated there are 188,714 people employed in charitable organisations.
The majority of these are employed by charities with reported income of over €10m.
Mr Farrelly said: “The research will also help donors, beneficiaries and the public to broaden and deepen their understanding of the role of charities in modern Ireland.”
The report calls for more efforts to support volunteering in registered Irish charities, particularly in the 18-34 age groups.
There is also a need to increase and support philanthropy and donations to Irish charities, according to the report.