President Mary McAleese today thanked Samaritan volunteers for listening to and potentially saving the lives of people who call them.
"I don't know if any of the people who call you come back to say 'Thank you'. But on behalf of those who don't, I'm saying it," she said during a visit to the Dublin branch of the charity today.
"I want to thank you all for your remarkable sense of generosity, for your deep, practical sense of responsibility, for your listening and for being present in a very important and meaningful way.
"We are all weak at times but when someone is in particular crisis, just hearing your voice infuses them with strength."
Mrs McAleese, who was visiting the branch at her own request, heard there had been a six per cent rise in the number of calls to the organisation in the 12 months to October 2010. This amounted to 240,000 calls.
Branch director Eileen Foley said Christmas could be a particularly poignant and "overwhelmingly lonely" time for people.
"There are an awful lot of people alone on Christmas day. We get very busy over Christmas. A lot of people find it just very, very difficult. There is a huge emotional play on people at this time of year."
The organisation's annual Ireland Impact Report November 2009 - October 2010, published earlier this month found calls to the helpline had become more "intense" than in previous years, and there had been an increase in the numbers relating to recession stress, from one in 10 in 2009 to one in eight in the last 12 months.
There are 12 branches of the Samaritans in the State and 240 volunteers.
Ms Foley was keen to stress there were methods other than phoning to get in contact with the Samaritans.
A texting service, where volunteers will text back and engage in 'conversation' with the distressed person by text, was being used by a lot of young people. "A lot of these are in very real and acute crisis," she said.
People were also contacting by email and again these are quickly replied to.
Samaritans 24-hour helpline 1850 60 90 90; text 087 260 6090; email: jo@samaritans.org
