Housing and homelessness charity the Peter McVerry Trust is closing one of its largest hostels due to fire safety concerns.
The 125-bed men’s hostel on St Stephen’s Green, Dublin, is being emptied in stages and is now housing 48 people.
These residents will be moved by the end of the month, a spokeswoman for the charity said.
All those accommodated at the short-term service – where people can stay for up to six months – have been or will be moved to other Peter McVerry Trust services or accommodation provided by other services as allocated by the Dublin Region Homeless Executive (DRHE).
READ MORE
“Peter McVerry Trust can confirm that a fire safety notice has been issued in relation to our adult short-term accommodation service in Dublin 2,” she said.
“We are actively engaging with Dublin Fire Brigade and all relevant parties to address the issues raised, and we have made significant progress in recent months toward resolving them.
“The matters involved are complex, and we have followed all guidance provided throughout this process. We have also taken steps to reduce occupancy in recent months as a precaution.
“At no point has any service user or staff member been placed at risk. We are committed to resolving this matter and have lodged an appeal to ensure the continued operation of this vital service.” She could not say when the facility would reopen.
Dublin City Council said the DRHE was “arranging alternative placements for the remaining residents.
“This is being managed with the least disruption possible to service users,” a council spokeswoman said.
The loss of the city-centre hostel, which represents almost a fifth of the trust’s 676 emergency beds for single adults, comes at a time of unprecedented pressure on emergency accommodation services in the capital.
In a letter to the Department of Housing in December, DRHE director Mary Hayes said her team was struggling to source enough emergency accommodation to meet spiralling demand and “the picture is stark for family homelessness” this year.
Warning that emergency accommodation was “overstretched”, she said: “I am deeply concerned that we will have on-street family homelessness in 2026.”
The most recent homelessness report from the Department of Housing shows there were 12,317 people in emergency accommodation in Dublin during the week between February 16th and 22nd. Of these, 4,021 were children, 3,263 were their parents or guardians and 5,033 were single adults.
The trust, established in the 1980s by Jesuit priest Fr Peter McVerry, is one of Ireland’s best-known charities, providing affordable housing and services to thousands of tenants and homeless people.
The organisation was hit by financial troubles two years ago, which led to a €15 million government lifeline to rescue it from potential collapse. Misgovernance and lax financial controls at the trust have been criticised in a series of damning reports by housing and charity regulators and by the Comptroller and Auditor General, which is the public spending watchdog.
