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Updated 6.15pm
BUSES ARE COLLECTING rough sleepers in Dublin and over 100 calls have been made to emergency accommodation services from members of the public to express concern over homeless people they’ve seen on the streets.
According to the Minister for Housing Eoghan Murphy, additional resources have been provided to house homeless people and ensure they’re not caught up in ex-hurricane Ophelia.
Dublin City Council and the Dublin Region Homeless Executive (DRHE) have sourced an additional 200 emergency bed spaces in the Dublin area and have confirmed that there is enough capacity in the system to meet the needs of all who wish to receive shelter.
Outside of Dublin, homeless individuals and rough sleepers are being transported to facilities using taxi or local authority mini bus services.
The Department said that similar efforts were being made by local authorities in Limerick, Cork, Galway, Meath, Kildare, Louth and Wicklow to ensure people have shelter and are transporting homeless individuals to facilities.
‘The last moment’
Earlier today, founder of the Capuchin Day Centre, Brother Kevin Crowley has criticised the government for failing to put in place adequate arrangements for homeless people earlier on in storm planning.
Speaking to RTÉ News, he said: “There wasn’t one word of anything being done for the homeless people and that really saddens me – it shows that the government doesn’t really care, that there was nothing put into action to help the people until the last moment.”
No person should be on the streets tonight and my big fear is that somebody would die on our streets and I’m taking this precaution and we’re staying open here this evening. We have arranged for so many people to come in to make sure we have enough food and we’ll have some place for these people to stay.
Councillor Christy Burke was also critical of the government’s response:
In another tweet he said: “They were to slow to act. They should hang their heads in shame.”
Inner City Helping Homeless, which has been out on the streets of Dublin all day encouraging people to seek shelter, also voiced criticism.
In a statement earlier today Minister for Housing Eoghan Murphy said his department had been liaising with local authorities and homeless services over the weekend and overnight. He repeated these statements in briefings given throughout the day.
Housing First Teams and local authorities have been working through the night offering shelter to those on the streets and transporting individuals to a range of facilities, the statement said.
All facilities will remain open for the full day during the storm and shelter is being provided to all those who need it.
Dublin
The Peter McVerry Trust said it is initiating its emergency response protocols. The outreach team has been strongly encouraging all rough sleepers to access emergency shelter and transport will be provided.
It also opened up the communal spaces at Richmond Street and Aungier Street services to provide exceptional, emergency shelter to people sleeping rough. The homeless youth café at 12/13 Berkeley Street, Dublin is operating on extended hours.
“Our one night only services, which total 64 beds are going 24 hour access until further notice allowing all residents to remain in the shelter.
The Newbridge service in Kildare has been designated a safe space for rough sleepers in the county,” the charity said.
Its service at St Catherine Foyer, Marrowbone Lane, Dublin 8, will offer additional exceptional spaces to provide emergency overnight placements for 25 people.
The council’s regional homeless executive is asking all homeless services to remain open.
Focus Ireland said its coffee shop in Dublin will also be open throughout the day, “providing not only a place of warmth and security but also hot food and information about what additional measures have been put in place throughout the day”.
“It is important to remember that the weather conditions will also create a risk for staff and volunteers who are on the street. Our teams in Dublin have transport back-up to help move people to places of safety,” the charity said.
The Capuchin Day Centre has been open from 9am this morning and people are welcome to stay there for the day.
Depaul said it will be keeping its four emergency hostels open 24 hours for the duration of Storm Ophelia. Little Britain Street, Brú Aimsir, Mount Brown and Blessington Street hostels will remain open with a total of 210 beds in what are usually night time only accommodation services.
The charity’s CEO Kerry Anthony said:
It is of vital importance that we do not forget to provide for the most vulnerable people in society during this storm. So many people have nowhere to go during the day and sleep rough at night, it is imperative that they have somewhere safe and indoors to go for the entirety of the storm.
Cork
Cork Simon’s day centre has been open since 8.30 this morning and the charity is encouraging people to go there to seek shelter from the storm. It is putting plans in place to extend the opening hours of this centre and is also hoping to make extra emergency beds available tonight.
Homeless charity Novas, which has services in Dublin, Limerick, Cork, Kerry and the Midlands said its office will be closed today, but all accommodation services will remain open.
In Galway, Cope is offering shelter:
A number of businesses have opened their doors those without shelter during the storm, including this B&B in Co Mayo:
In Cork, 3 Little Piggies cafe has been open to the homeless for shelter from 9pm last night.
Tallaght Adventure World in south Dublin also said it is inviting rough sleepers to spend tonight there. Dermot Richardson, who owns the centre, told TheJournal.ie that it will be closed for business, but will is opening its doors to anyone who needs shelter.
After a call-out on Facebook for volunteers, he said he was “inundated with calls overnight” and they also have a stock of sleeping bags for people who arrive in.
“People are very good, we’ve had taxi drivers and bus drivers saying they’ll pick people up wherever they are and bring them in,” he said. “Nobody needs to be out on the street in the storm”.
Members of the public are being asked to report any homeless case or individual that they have concerns to their local authority and the cases will be followed up by each local authority area. In the Dublin region, members of the public can log and report cases of concern here.
With reporting from Gráinne Ní Aodha
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Nobody should be on the streets anytime, not just during a storm.
@Trevor Beale: I was just about to say the same Trevor,..If the powers that be can do it now, then why not indefinitely… Hypocritical CRUNTS…
@Michael Kelly: As stated on the RTE news, one of the greatest difficulties in situations like this is that many of the homeless don’t speak english, so communicating the coming storm and need to take shelter is not easy.
I expect the Government is mindful of the unlimited stream of people that continually replace the homeless population no matter how many are housed.
The statistics, should they be 100 from one year to the next, don’t tell you if it is the same 100 as the previous year, or if 500 people have been housed, always leaving a new 100 homeless statistic in place.
@Trevor Beale: exactly.. it’s far worse in snow and ice i would imagine
@Trevor Beale: did you offer a place in your home for a homeless person during the storm??
@Blah blah: I’d imagine he was referring to the lack of a concerted effort by state agencies like the army etc etc. I don’t see any homeless people living within viewing distance of my suburban home, they usually hang around towns/cities.
@alphanautica: Rubbish rte PC propaganda most homeless people here are Irish
I noticed a lot of comments on Twitter about the homeless. I hope they are being looked after and I’m sure many comments are genuine. However, many are just attempts at political point scoring and I wonder how many of these people give time/money etc. to homeless services/charities or are their comments on Twitter just to make them feel better about themselves.
@Reg: so, unless people give time/money etc. to homeless services/charities they have no right to express concern about the homeless, or highlight the consistent failure of the government to solve the problem?
@Reg:
Islamic Cultural Centre opened its doors. Have any Catholic churches followed suit, Brother Crowley?
@Reg: “however, many are just attempts at political point scoring” Nice sweeping statement there “Reg”, maybe people are just genuinely concerned and nobody knows how much money or time they give, not that it’s any of our business, cynicism is an ugly trait in us Irish, unfortunately.
@JimmyMc: all the above charities receive significant funding from the state to provide the service that they are staying the state doesn’t provide. I for one, would wish we pooled all the money that is given to these charities and just provide a single service for rough sleepers. So much overhead and repetition, and they complain about the state, while taking the funds, tax breaks and some public donations. Hey a single department to be actually responsible for getting together sleeping down to zero, and stop outsourcing to these private organizations.
@Gulliver Foyle: Agree 100%. It’s almost like the government doesn’t want to take responsibility and would prefer to pass the buck to a myriad of charities. And not just on homelessness.
@Brinster: I am noted for my strong opposition to a severe criticism of the institution of the Roman Catholic Church an institution closely associated with FG and FF, but in fairness, the Capuchin order of brothers, not priests, do immense.t good work at great personal sacrifice.
Of course, charities should not be needed to do what is the proper function and responsibility of the State.
The comments that the Capuchin Brother was engaged in political point scoring is odious, unfair and a distraction from the successive failures of FF and FG due to an ideology based on private sector solutions to public and social problems.
@Fiona deFreyne: you are noted for a lot of things Tony, not all very nice.
@Fiona deFreyne: I’ve no doubt that Brother Crowley has done great work. As has Fr McVerry. But he was wrong to say that there wasn’t a word spoken about plans to help the homeless during the storm. There were two stories on this yesterday on the Journal. There is homelessness in every country. But tonight it seems that all rough sleepers will have access to somewhere to stay.
@Reg: do you? 3
@Brinster: yes the clonskea mosque opened its doors to the homeless during the storm offering food and warm drinks well done to them
@Brinster: yes and well done to them
there are people who will not go to shelter, they feel there can be very dangerous with some incredible dangerous people using them. why do people not understand that yet?
@Dáithí Ó Raghallaigh: I think everybody understands that, in fairness
@Dáithí Ó Raghallaigh: why can’t the courts lock up these very dangerous people
@Michael Geraghty: no one understands that in fairness
@Michael Geraghty: Ask them.
@Michael Geraghty: no prison spaces
@Michael Geraghty: they would if there was more prison’s
Inner City Helping Homeless, Peter McVerry Trust, Focus Ireland, Simon, Depaul, Novas, Cope all in this article. Would they ever thinking of merging? It’s lot of duplication and they each do much the same service
@Michael McLoughlin: Peter mcverry is doing great work. while the rest live in palaces.
If this priest is so concerned why doesnt he and other catholic churches open churches, their parish houses to the homeless? C
@Blah blah: he is. Capuchin Brother, not a Priest, not a Dioscesan Priest, but a genuine member of a mendicant order devoted to charity, and doing the work that should properly be done by the State.
I have noted that your comments tend to be uniformed and misinformed blah blah balderdash.
@Blah blah:
I dont think its fair to criticize Br Kevin, he’s done so much and continues to do, for the poor and homeless in Dublin
Isn’t that nice of our government to shelter Irish homeless during a severe storm God bless em
Reported earlier on the news most couldn’t understand the situation, because most didn’t speak English. I wonder why they stay in Ireland, been homeless surely they be better off back their own country.
@Michael: When you don’t have a pot to piss in, it makes travelling abroad kind of difficult. There are still many Irish homeless in London who for whatever reasons, things didn’t go according to plan and ended up in that situation. Walk across Waterloo bridge any night after 10pm.
@Michael: Those would be the tourists they interviewed Michael…….
@Michael: well there non eu citizens here from one of the 27 eu states so no special status applies here
@Michael: on rte most couldn’t understand English? More like a PC (propaganda) broadcast
The government don’t know, they don’t give a flying one, they farmed the problem out to charity and have forgotten about the homelsss, or rough sleeper, call them what you want.
@Dave Doyle: as per the law last 20 years now
Discusted with this government.
How would this government care. Varadkar spending 5m on a spin unit to mind him. Murphy goes around giving interviews with his Dublin 4 accent and not meat to anything he says. Minister for health doesn’t know anything about his portfolio. Shane Ross is one of the ministers for nothing. Right wing bullies
@Paul Coughlan: AGREED
@Michael McLoughlin: ICHH isn’t government funded.. they rely completely on donations and fundraisers to carry out their tireless work.. Brother Kevin is an amazing man but he’s right, up until the last minute all the Government had to advise people about was to secure trampolines bins and check your livestock! The goodwill and charity from all over the country is heartwarming.. but what happens in 48 hours when Ophelia has moved on..
@Babs McMahon: same ol ditto
Gov. seems to think that the phrase ‘liaising with’ translates in our small brains ino ‘doing something’.
It doesn’t.
All it means is that a few lads in a few offices have made a few phone calls to a few people.
Hey-presto, liaising complete.
If you don’t get up early in the morning you can die in the storm, great sentiment Leo.
@Diogenes: Precisely when did he say “If you don’t get up early in the morning you can die in the storm”? In what context?
The guverment havent a clue…….Spanners ! the lot of them
Where did this emergency accommodation spring from….. wasn’t there last week
@AP: The clue is in what you wrote “emergency accommodation” not being provided by the state mind being provide by charities……
@AP: PR related
@AP: yes not good for bord failte image homeless dying on streets due to storm
Shame that it took such an event for the eyes of the country to be directed towards these poor people. Hoping everyone of them is safe and sound tonight. Get your ar$e in gear Mr Varadkar and sort it for good.
@Stephen Duffy: don’t hold your breath?
I’m actually glad that for once the Taoiseach kept us updated and action was taken to ensure public safety. Far cry from the previous governments who ran for cover
Leo’s spin centre will be spinning over time claiming it’s down to him……
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