Ireland world’s ninth most generous nation, says group

Ireland is the ninth most generous country in the world according to the Charities Aid Foundation.

Today is Giving Tuesday, a global day for giving back and donating to charity.

The idea behind #GivingTuesday is to encourage people, charities and businesses to donate time, money or their voice to help a good cause.

According to the New York Times, Giving Tuesday is celebrated on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving and has since grown into a global movement of fundraising for non-profit groups; collection drives for food, blood and clothing banks; and even random acts of kindness.

Ireland joined the #GivingTuesday movement in 2014 when it was brought here by mycharity.ie.

Ireland was ranked number nine among countries worldwide for donating money to charity, volunteering time and helping a stranger.

Myanmar is ranked first in the World Giving Index 2016, having held the top spot on its own in 2015 and jointly with the USA in 2014.

The hashtag #GivingTuesdayIreland has been used by Irish charity Twitter accounts to encourage more people to donate the time or money to good causes.