Madam, - Allow me once again to express my frustration at the homeless services: a young homeless man, who is drug free, and wishes to stay drug free, is denied any social welfare payments unless he agrees to go into a homeless hostel full of drug users, where people will be injecting drugs in front of him, offering him drugs, and robbing him to pay for their drugs.
The State gives him a choice: stay on the streets, rob to survive, and we'll send you to jail, or go to the hostel, end up on drugs and we'll send you to jail. - Yours, etc,
Fr PETER McVERRY SJ, 26 Upper Sherrard St., Dublin 1.