'More dignity' in pop-up kitchens that work indoors, says Cork Simon CEO
Dermot Kavanagh, Cork Simon pictured at the CBA Safe and Clean Breakfast at the Clayton Hotel, Lapps Quay.
The locations of various pop-up soup kitchens should be reconsidered to ensure safety for those availing of food services and for neighbouring businesses, the CEO of the Cork Simon Community has said.
Speaking to Cork Business Association (CBA) members on Wednesday at an event dedicated to safety and cleanliness in the city, Dermot Kavanagh said independent pop-up food services would be better operated if taken indoors.
Mr Kavanagh was responding to general manager of Marks & Spencer, David Long, who raised concerns about the prevalence of anti-social behaviour resulting from these pop ups, which can be "particularly difficult" at this time of year.
Addressing Mr Long, Inspector James Hallahan of An Garda Síochána told CBA members: "These pop up services are altruistic and want to help, but we are aware of their locations. We have patrols and we keep our eyes on them to ensure they are structured and managed correctly.
"We take the locations of these pop-ups into account and take note of the businesses on either side of them. If businesses see problems arise, the gardaí are happy to increase patrols in those areas."
Mr Kavanagh, who has led the Cork Simon Community for more than 14 years, told attendees: "The Simon Community started out as a soup kitchen back in 1971. I fully appreciate the warm heartedness of people, but we took our soup kitchen indoors 13 years ago.
"It gives more dignity and is also more manageable. We use our indoor soup services to build relationships, learn what the real issues impacting people are and find the best solutions to them.
"It would be preferable for these services to take the same path and move indoors. Eating on the side of the road is a horrible situation for anyone to find themselves in," Mr Kavanagh said.
City Centre Coordinator with the city council John Hayes agreed, adding that while peoples' hearts are in the right place, these services need to be located "in the right location."
The event, which took place in the Clayton Hotel on Lapp's Quay on Wednesday morning, heard from Inspector Hallahan, Mr Kavangh and Mr Hayes, and was MC'd by Opinion Editor Deirdre O'Shaughnessy.
On the topic of crime in Cork City, Inspector Hallahan said shoplifting offences had dropped by 14% in the last three months, with a total of 365 offenders making up 568 total arrests so far this year.
Mr Hallahan also noted that among the top 20 offenders of shoplifting in the city centre, 12 remained in custody and seven were on bail, leaving only one who the garda said now resided outside of the city.
The inspector also confirmed the the community policing van, which is shared between Cork City and Kerry, would be returned to the city centre at the end of October, where it will stay until January 2026.
It came amid concerns reagarding large groups congregating outside certain businesses across the city centre. Mags Connor, sales and marketing manager at the Cornstore Restaurant on Cornmarket Street, told Mr Hallahan: "There is a new gang in the city that seem to love Cornmarket Street.
"We had 11 of them sitting outside the restaurant yesterday, it was daunting. While there were two gardaí on patrol standing outside our business, how are we meant to move these people on? What is your plan for this new gang?"
Mr Hallahan replied: "Moving them on means moving them somewhere else. Sometimes, we have the power to arrest them for committing an offence. It's about robust targeting and making it unsafe for them so they will move on on their own accord."
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