Businessman threatens legal action over ‘wet house’
Cork city businessman Seán Feehan, who owns a one-hour photo shop on Bridge Street, said there was a strong possibility other local interests would take similar steps to block the E1 million project.
There are three wet houses in Dublin and one in Limerick, catering for homeless people with drink problems.
Cork Simon Community and the city council have joined forces to develop Cork’s first wet house.
It is hoped to have the facility open by March.
“This is an important project for the city,” a council spokesman said.
He described the planned facility as “the last gap” in the council’s strategy to tackle homelessness in Cork.
The 15-bed facility on Leitrim Street will accommodate about 20 people during the day who would normally be drinking on the streets.
The aim of the centre is to wean people off alcohol.
But Mr Feehan spoke out against the project last night. “I’m fully in favour of a shelter for homeless people, but totally against giving them a place to drink their booze. Giving them booze is crazy,” he said.
“I haven’t met anyone in the area who is in favour of it. But if they are going to pick a place, they couldn’t possibly have picked a worse place,” he said.
The planned location is close to three secondary schools.
“It seems sheer lunacy to place such a centre in the middle of an area with approximately 2,000 school children and with a footpath a metre wide when its users are intoxicated,” he said.
O’Connor’s funeral home, one of the city’s best known funeral undertakers, is also located across the street.
“Surely any studied discussion of this proposal must include the effects on people using this premises in their grief being accosted for funds by the occupants of the wet house,” he said.
Mr Feehan said he spent E500,000 last year refurbishing apartments as part of the council’s Living Over the Shop Scheme designed to encourage people to live in the city centre.
“I feel the council has now let me down with this proposal just 60 yards from my premises,” he said.
He said he regularly finds street drinkers wandering around his shop or asleep in the hallway of his apartments.
He encouraged councillors to visit the country’s other wet houses before voting on the Cork facility.
A council spokesperson submissions from the public will be accepted until July 14.
“Hopefully we can work through the issues,” he said.
Officials will brief city councillors on the progress of the project this week.
A full report is due before councillors in September after which a vote is due.
