Simon Community to vote against partnership

The Simon Community has decided to vote against the proposed national partnership deal, saying it will have "no positive impact on the homelessness crisis".

The organisation, which represents the homeless, said in a statement today the agreement, "Sustaining Progress", contained "a piecemeal attempt to tackle one sector of housing provision with no thought given to sustainability or social integration".

Simon is a member of the Community Platform which represents 26 interest groups.

Simon's Social Policy and Research Coordinator, Ms Noeleen Hartigan, said: "There is a startling contrast in the text of the proposed deal between the Government's commitment to 'an ambitious scale of delivery of affordable housing' and their unwillingness to make any specific commitments on housing for homeless people, the elderly or the Travelling Community".

She believes the deal struck between unions and employers for 10,000 affordable houses will have no positive impact on the homelessness crisis and that key proposals from the Community Platform on the issue were ignored.

"This union/employer deal on affordable housing is a critical example of how Government chooses to engage with the players who have economic muscle in Social Partnership while ignoring the proposals of the organisations that represent the most marginalised in Irish society," she added.

The Irish Prison Officers' Association also announced today its national executive has unanimously decided to recommend rejection of the partnership deal.