This week the charity of the same name, with branches in both Ireland and abroad, announced it was going into voluntary self-funding mode.

The charity’s director, Lianne McCann, said that the “biggest challenge” facing the charity had been its “worried, but not surprised” members and staff who “were seeing a huge drop in donations and contributions”.

Ms McCann said that there was a “huge gap” in terms of numbers of people who were donating, but she said that this was due to the “frequent, severe” and “ongoing” financial challenges faced by the charity.

This has resulted in the “possibility that our membership is going to be cut off in the future”, she said.

In December the charity revealed that its annual operating income was £20.4 million, down from £22.4 in the previous financial year.

A spokesperson said that it was “under no illusions” that the charity could continue to function in the face of these challenges.

In January the charity announced that it would stop paying its members and that its “fundraising capacity” had been reduced by about 40 per cent, from £3.7 million to £2.9 million.

In June, the charity said it would cut its staff and members by about 80 per cent in total, from a staff of more than 1,000 to about 600.

The announcement came after the Irish Times reported that the organisation had been “dismantled” by a private investment group.