Government pledges emergency shelter to combat homelessness

THE Government has taken the first positive steps in tackling the plight of people sleeping rough.

An emergency shelter to accommodate homeless is set to open at the end of this week, with Minister for the Environment John Gormley pledging to open some vacant buildings as emergency shelters, under a pilot scheme which will run until April.

The department of the environment said, however, it would not be advertising the location in case it could attract protests from residents.

The move follows an Irish Examiner report on the plight facing homeless people.

In this paper last week, Alice Leahy, director of Trust — a social and health service for the homeless — called for long-term vacant properties to be made available for homeless people seeking shelter during cold snaps and bad weather.

Ms Leahy, who has worked at the coalface with homeless people since the 1970s, urged politicians to tackle the issue with a hands-on approach and make use of idle properties.

Now, Mr Gormley has stepped in and said he will open vacant buildings as an emergency shelters.

The minister, who himself worked with homeless people in the 1970s, said he had previously spoken to Ms Leahy before Christmas on the issue.

But after hearing her call, he requested Dublin City Council to progress with some initiatives she had spoken about.

Ms Leahy, who founded Trust in the 1970s, maintains the problems for homeless peopl have not been tackled in more than three decades. She said the lack of emergency beds, particularly during cold snaps, was a huge worry for homeless charities.

Ms Leahy said “highly intrusive” questions asked of people presenting at homeless shelters worked as a deterrent.

Mr Gormley acknowledged the most marginalised in society might not want to deal with bureaucracy of form filling. He said people seeking emergency shelter would be able to do so under the new scheme without the intrusion of lengthy questionnaires.

The shelter he is proposing will be basic, the minister conceded, but it will offer a bed and some essentials such as washing facilities and hot drinks.