The country’s largest voluntary homeless and drugs agency is witnessing ever greater numbers of distressed people coming into its soup kitchens and drugs services.
Merchants Quay Ireland fears the housing crisis will “get worse” as rents continue to rise and emergency accommodation remains clogged up.
MQI chief executive Tony Geoghegan said the Government should immediately open up unused accommodation to provide those sleeping rough somewhere “safe and clean” to rest.
Publishing the MQI 2013 Annual Review, Mr Geoghegan said they were seeing increasing demand for all its services — soup kitchens, medical help, needle exchange services, and drug detox.
The demand is growing from outside Dublin, reflecting the national scale of the housing and drugs crisis and lack of local services, said Mr Geoghegan.
“While there is much talk of the improving economic situation, these improvements haven’t filtered down to those most in need,” he said.
“In fact, conversely, as the economy recovers, it has placed increased pressure on the over-priced rental market and is trapping more and more people in homelessness.
“My concern is that it is going to get worse, because the move on from homelessness is dependant on the private rented sector and rents are going up and many landlords don’t want social welfare tenants.”
The campaigner said it was “totally unacceptable” that up to 150 people were sleeping rough on the streets of Dublin every night.
He said the 1,600 emergency accommodation beds were full and urged the Government to open up unused accommodation to provide these people with somewhere to sleep that is “safe, clean and warm.”
“That should be a minimum provision, because it will saves lives: that’s the reality,” said Mr Geoghegan.
Source: Cormac O'Keeffe, Irish Examiner, 12/09/14
Safer Student Nights
eBulletin
Poll
