Begging restrictions bill 'does nothing for most vulnerable'

A LEADING advocate for homeless people has expressed concern about new plans to ban begging near bank machines and other premises and has warned they do little to address the root cause of the problem.

Justice Minister Dermot Ahern last night concluded a Dáil debate on the public order section of the Criminal Justice Bill 2010, which includes restrictions on begging. Under the legislation, begging will now be an offence where it is accompanied by unacceptable conduct, such as harassment, intimidation or obstruction. Gardaí will also be able to arrest beggars if they stay within 10 metres of an ATM or business and refuse to move.

Fr Peter McVerry, who has worked with Dublin’s homeless for more than 30 years, said he understood the reasoning behind the legislation but pointed out that often those asking for money on the streets had no other choice.

“My problem is the political priorities here. While the concern is centred on somebody going into a shop who feels intimidated, there isn’t really any concern as to why people have to beg in the first place.

“I know some people are professional beggars and make a living out of it, but I know homeless people who have to beg. They have to beg for two reasons: their social welfare hasn’t come through, and it can take weeks and weeks for somebody’s social welfare to come through,” he told RTÉ Radio.

According to Mr Ahern, the bill does not present “any threat or risk for the most needy and most vulnerable in society”.

“Anyone who asks another person at a bus stop late at night to help with the fare is, perhaps, engaged in the activity of begging, but it is not an offence if done in an agreeable manner,” Mr Ahern told the Dáil while debating the bill.

Mr Ahern also said the new law on begging will not impact on charity collections, which are already regulated.

Any offence under the law can result in a fine of €400 or a custodial sentence of up to one month or both.

Recent Central Statistic Office figures show that just 30 offences of begging were recorded in 2008, following a High Court ruling the previous year that the existing law on begging was unconstitutional.

The number of begging offences were considerably higher prior to this, with 461 in 2007 and 605 in 2006.

Fr McVerry said the real reasons behind begging needed to be addressed by the Government.

“They don’t have any option but to beg and rob. The second reason is they don’t have any address and they don’t have any address because they won’t go into the drug-filled homeless shelters.

“And they don’t go in because they’re intimidated in there and that issue isn’t being addressed. I regularly have to help people out with food because they have nothing to live on.

“I think we need to get to the root cause of why some people have to beg. I think that ought to be a much greater political priority.”