Volunteers at a suicide helpline in Dublin have been forced to double their hours as the number of distress calls has jumped due to the pandemic.
The Dublin Samaritans have been inundated with a massive rise in phone calls as people are struggling to cope with the effects of the COVID-19 situation in the country.
Almost all callers mentioned Covid-19 as contributing to their distress and reason for calling the helpline.
The charity's Dublin branch received 82,000 calls in 2019 and volunteers noted a marked increase in calls across 2020.
Director of Dublin Samaritans, Anne Vaughan said: “Ordinary people do not only experience anxiety between the set hours of nine to five.
"As we all know, pressures can become overwhelming at any time of the day or night and it is vital that we can continue to offer a confidential and non-judgemental listening service to those who need it 24/7.
Anne added: “People who call us are from every walk of life and age bracket.
"They talk to us about a range of topics including loneliness, isolation, relationships, finance, abuse, the future, and, in the last year, the struggles of living through lockdown features in almost every call. It’s so important to talk and our amazing volunteers are specially trained to just listen without judgement.”
