OPINION:Irish people are facing harder times, but even a small gift helps those who live in poverty, writes Peter Ireton
GIVING OUR all, despite the crunch, says a lot about who we are. It is no understatement to say that 2008 has been an annus horribilis for the banks, businesses of all sizes and the public finances.
Retailers are trying to persuade thriftier Christmas shoppers to forgo the temptations of Newry and Enniskillen and direct their cash to shopping tills south of the Border this December. Consumer confidence is at its weakest for a generation and the CSO tells us that actual spending is at a 20-year low.
The national mood is weary and punch-drunk after a seemingly unending stream of bad news, yet we fear the worst and predict that even more economic meltdown may be on the way in 2009. The era of excess is over and greed, it would seem, is no longer good.
So how will our new-found frugality manifest itself? This Christmas, Irish people will potentially be experiencing more financial hardships than at any time in recent years.
A survey by Deloitte published last week found that the spending power of Irish consumers will be almost 10 per cent lower this year than in 2007, with an average spend of €668 per household on gifts. In the charity sector, organisations are preparing themselves for what could be a "giving crunch" this Christmas.
When times are tough, conventional wisdom tells us that discretionary household spending is the first thing to go and donations to charity fall into that category. It stands to reason - or does it? Economic success and generosity towards the less fortunate do not necessarily go hand in hand. Indeed, the evidence would suggest that, in the past, when we were a far poorer country, Irish people gave with unparalleled generosity to charities at home and overseas. In the 1960s and 1970s, inspired by the disastrous famine in Biafra in 1968, Irish missionary organisations pioneered the area of development co-operation, building on Ireland's close links with the region via the thousands of Irish missionaries caught up in the conflict.
Bóthar's origins can be traced back to 1989, the end of a truly dismal economic decade of recession and net emigration, in the city of Limerick. Bóthar began as an enterprise to send as many dairy cows to Africa as possible in the year 1991, to mark the centenary of the signing of the treaty of Limerick.
Months of hard work by volunteers and donors from all over the country culminated with the first Bóthar airlift of 20 in-calf dairy heifers, which left Shannon airport for Entebbe, Uganda, on December 10th, 1991.
That airlift marked the beginning of a tradition of grassroots giving and community involvement that has since inspired thousands of Irish people to give. Bóthar's approach to development is simple, direct and sustainable. It has grown so that, in the 2007 Christmas season, those who bought Bóthar gifts helped to improve the lives of nearly 20,000 families in need in 40 countries.
We may be feeling the hardships of the Budget, the credit crunch and the property slowdown this Christmas, and there is no doubt that there are needy at home as well as overseas. It is nonetheless worth remembering that one-third of the world's six billion people live in poverty, surviving on far less than €1 a day. The vast majority of Irish people are lucky enough to live in relative comfort and security. Some perspective is required before we sink into misery at the thought of Christmas on a tighter budget and turn our backs on a simple act of giving that can have untold positive consequences.
It is to be hoped that we can recall the spirit of those pioneering missionaries, farmers, community organisations and others like them from years gone by and that we will avoid a "giving crunch" this year. Let's reaffirm to ourselves that despite everything, we are a nation of givers and that we will always seek to help those who have least. The power to change the world, one gift at a time, lies with each one of us.
Peter Ireton is chief executive of Bóthar