Initiative on homelessness is a 'disgrace', says TD

Dublin City Council's initiative to remove homeless people from the city centre's streets will be discussed at a meeting of organisations working with the sector tonight.

Reports last week suggested begging and street drinking had been almost eradicated in the city centre as a result of a programme in place since July and operated by Dublin City Council, the Garda and health services.

Parnell Square to St Stephen's Green has been designated a "public domain zone" as part of the programme. As well as 2,800 arrests in the area, including 70 for begging, there has been a programme to help people access accommodation, health services and addiction treatments.

Mr Bob Jordan of the Dublin Simon Community, will tell tonight's meeting the initiative is an example of how homelessness can lead to a "casual erosion of one's further civil and economic rights".

"Increasingly, if the establishment sees a homeless person, or even a person who just looks like they're homeless, it feels it can treat them as if they are not a citizen, can just eject them from the city centre," he said yesterday.

He will also tell the meeting ways must be examined to increase homeless people's participation in policy affecting them, and in finding ways for them to vote. Currently if you do not have an address you cannot vote.

Mr Arthur Morgan, TD and Sinn Féin's spokesman on housing, will tell the meeting the right to housing should be inserted into the Constitution. He is tabling a Private Member's Bill in the Dáil on the issue in the next fortnight.

"This would oblige the Government to address the housing crisis seriously. The homelessness situation has got worse under this Government and the current \ Minister [for Housing, Mr Noel Ahern\]. We are in the last year of a homelessness strategy for Dublin and the numbers of homeless have gone up."

Describing the Dublin City Council initiative a "disgrace" he said it was "in effect harassing people off the street who have already been harassed by Government inaction".

A speaker from the housing charity Threshold will also address the meeting.