<p>
	CEO of Irish Dogs for the Disabled says funding down by &euro;64,000 so far this year</p>
<p>
	&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	Donations to the Irish Dogs for the Disabled charity, which runs almost entirely on a voluntary basis, are down by 35 per cent since the funding scandal at the suicide charity Console.</p>
<p>
	&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	Jennifer Dowler, chief executive of the Cork-based charity, said donations had dropped by about &euro;64,000 so far this year due to, what she believes, is a negative perception of charities by the public.</p>
<p>
	&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	The charity receives no government funding and costs about &euro;300,000 a year to run, mainly raised by members of the public through events such as coffee mornings and mini-marathons.</p>
<p>
	&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	Ms Dowler said the charity&rsquo;s donations were down anyway this year, but had dropped by 35 per cent since the scandal at Console broke.</p>
<p>
	&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	&ldquo;It&rsquo;s quite a competitive market and there has been a lot of negative press in relation to charities. Everything has a knock-on effect. We will just keep going and we are hoping it will turn around again.</p>
<p>
	&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	&ldquo;You can understand why people are concerned &ndash; I get that. But it&rsquo;s our lifeline. People need to ask more questions and get to know charities.&rdquo;</p>
<p>
	&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	The charity trains dogs for three specific roles &ndash; as stability dogs, assistance, or task-based dogs for people using wheelchairs, and as therapy dogs for people with physical and intellectual disabilities. It has about 200 dogs at various stages of development and training.</p>
<p>
	&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	(Published by the Irish Times on the 25th August 2016)</p>
<p>
	<a href="http://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/donations-to-dog-group-down-35-since-charity-scandals-1.2767454">http://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/donations-to-dog-group-down-35-since-charity-scandals-1.2767454</a></p>
