Homeless children's day centre opened

The Minister of State for Health, Mr Frank Fahey, has urged residents' groups not to hold up the expansion of services for the homeless and disadvantaged with protests.

Speaking at the launch of the State's first day-care centre for homeless young people, he said health boards had been unable to avail of funds for such projects because of local opposition.

The Loft, in Focus Ireland's youth centre at John's Lane West, Dublin, aims to provide homeless children with an alternative to spending the day on the streets, where they are exposed to danger and more likely to be engaged in anti-social behaviour. As well as offering meals and advice, the centre - open between 10.30 a.m. and 7.30 p.m. seven days a week - provides a link to education and treatment programmes.

The centre has had 42 visitors in the two months before its official opening. An estimated 20 per cent were under 14. Last year, Focus Ireland dealt with almost 700 young people.

The president of Focus Ireland, Sister Stanislaus Kennedy, said: "Our main concern is that unless there is continuous care all through the day and all week, there will be young people who will fall through the cracks. The younger they are, the more vulnerable they are and unfortunately we are seeing them coming to us younger and younger."

The centre was provided at a cost of £235,000 by the Eastern Health Board as part of its 24-hour crisis response programme.