The Society of St Vincent de Paul says they are dealing with people who have to choose whether to eat or heat their homes
The artic snap has only served to exacerbate the difficulties they're facing as they struggle to pay their energy bills or even buy a bag of coal
The charity says the rising costs of fuel and food mean people are juggling their weekly bills to try and make ends meet
Speaking to RedFM News Paddy O'Flynn of SVP says food remains the biggest need among their callers
"People out there are making awful choices do you eat or heat? Do you put food on the table and let yourself go frozen or do you keep the house warm and keep the kids warm? The biggest requirement in all those numbers is for food - 36 to 40% of all our calls are requests to help families and people for food"
