Peter McVerry: Homeless crisis much worse than last year

The homeless crisis has become “much, much worse” a year on from the death of Jonathan Corrie, who died on a doorstep within sight of the Dáil in Dublin, according to Fr Peter McVerry.

Fr McVerry said the 271 additional beds for the homeless opened this time last year in response to the issue had been filled within four weeks.

He said a further tranche of 100 beds opened this week was also inadequate. “It won’t get everybody off the street. The numbers sleeping on the streets are far higher than 100... The numbers on the streets are beginning to climb again.”

Fr McVerry said the rate at which families were becoming homeless was also accelerating.

“When Jonathan Corrie died there were on average 40 families a month becoming homeless. At the moment the average number of families becoming homeless per month are 73. So things have become much, much worse.”

More required

He said while recent Government measures to address homelessness, including a freeze on rent increases, were welcome, a lot more was required.

“What they are doing is welcome and it will make a difference in time. But it is far, far too little.”

The rent certainty is only for a two-year period, he said.

“The deposits to be held by the PTRB instead of the landlord will make a huge difference for tenants trying to get their deposits back.

“But it’s going to make little difference given the scale of the problem. We need far, far more radical action than is being taken at the moment.”

Fr McVerry called for the expansion of the mortgage-to-rent scheme to avoid families being thrown out of their homes when they were repossessed.

Fr McVerry said 50 people who slept on a mats at the Merchant’s Quay cafe should be counted in the homeless figures.

“The least we can do, and it’s only a question of money, is to give everybody their own space. To give them a place they can go into, lock the door, feel safe, know not going to be attacked during the night,” he said.

Dublin rapper Thomas Kiernan Dunne, known as Tommy KD, is taking part in a march with Fr McVerry on Tuesday evening to highlight the homelessness problem.

Love/Hate

The 40-year-old from Ballymun stood out in his appearance in TV crime series Love/Hate as a “born-again” recovering drug addict.

Tommy, who has experienced homelessness over the last eight years and is a recovering drug addict, has released a single about homelessness.

All proceeds from the single, Homeless, will go Merchant’s Quay Riverbank Centre and Dublin Simon Community.

Manager and friend Pat Neary said the rapper wanted to help make people aware of the homelessness problem.

“He’s an intelligent man with a lot of feelings. He wanted to share his message through his music. He wants to help,” he said.

“Everyone has put in so much effort and time into, especially Donal Moloney in the video. The images are so strong and intimate.”