Sir, – The problem of homelessness is now out of control. A growing number of people are sleeping rough on the streets of Dublin, as there are not enough beds available.
To eliminate rough sleeping is not rocket science – it involves renting or buying a few buildings, doing some internal renovations, putting in beds and employing some staff.
Why can the Government not address that relatively simple issue, especially now that winter is approaching and the economy recovering?
Why are drug-free homeless people forced to share a room full of drug users, or forfeit their social welfare payments?
Why is the whole experience of accessing emergency homeless services such a frustrating, degrading and humiliating experience, especially for people who are first time homeless?
There is no sense of urgency at the political level to provide a half-decent homeless service which respects the dignity of homeless people and which actually works.
Homelessness and rough sleeping are likely to increase substantially over the next 18 months.
Some 31,500 buy-to-let residential properties are in mortgage arrears of more than 90 days, and 35,000 principal home properties are in mortgage arrears of more than two years.
The Central Bank has referred to a “potential mortgage arrears time-bomb”. Each house that is repossessed by a financial institution is a person or family potentially facing homelessness.
There is a “potential homeless time-bomb” ticking away. It may explode before the next general election. – Yours, etc,
Fr PETER McVERRY, SJ
Jesuit Centre
for Faith and Justice,
Upper Sherrard Street,
Dublin 1.