The leaders of Ireland’s largest churches have called for urgent government support to address the cost of living crisis.
They said they were concerned by what they were seeing on the ground and warned spiralling costs were forcing people to make impossible choices.
The leaders also said they were concerned by governments’ responses.
Rising energy prices could push UK inflation as high as 18% in 2023, economic analysts have predicted.
The statement came from the leaders of the Catholic, Methodist and Presbyterian churches, the Church of Ireland and the Irish Council of Churches.
“We want to join our voices with many others, calling for more practical support to be delivered urgently through direct government initiatives in both jurisdictions and also via grassroots charity and community partnerships,” they said.
“This must go hand in hand with a longer term refocusing of government policies to deliver real and meaningful social justice and eliminate poverty across this island.”
The church leaders said increasing energy and food prices were disproportionately affecting the most vulnerable and people already living in poverty.
Many people were missing meals or going into debt, they said.
“We are also deeply concerned regarding the government response in both jurisdictions, in meeting immediate needs and also in relation to longer term strategy,” they added.
“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.
“Almost 25 years later and this has never been agreed or produced.
“Likewise, in Ireland a cross-party anti-poverty strategy is badly needed to address issues in a comprehensive and effective manner”.
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