Dublin homeless plans will be rolled out — but at a later date

Emergency measures to ease the homeless crisis in Dublin will be replicated in other cities — but not immediately.

A spokesperson for the Department of the Environment said measures arising from Thursday’s emergency summit on homelessness in Dublin, called in the wake of Jonathan Corrie’s death on Monday in the shadow of Leinster House, would be utilised elsewhere.

However, given the acute nature of the problem in the capital, the resources which will make an extra 200 emergency beds available in Dublin by Christmas are unlikely to be on offer elsewhere until at least the new year.

The steps being taken in Dublin have been broadly welcomed, although some of the details is still to be finalised.

However, some groups elsewhere have said that while the level of rough sleeping in smaller cities is more manageable, it should not be allowed to reach a similar crisis point before more resources are made available.

Campaigns and communications manager at Cork Simon, Paul Sheehan, said it was “crazy” that the homeless situations in other places like Cork were not being addressed as quickly as that in Dublin, although he said the numbers in Cork are currently “manageable”.

Focus Ireland in Cork also said all beds associated with shelters in Cork were typically full, meaning approximately 10-plus rough sleepers a night in the city for whom a bed was not available.

Speaking earlier, Junior Health Minister Kathleen Lynch said “I had already discussed during the week with Alan Kelly the fact that Joan Burton was here last Friday and launched Simon’s annual report and she said in that for the first time ever they’d increased the homeless budget by €10m and she intends to increase it again next year.

“Now clearly, there are additional immediate steps that need to be taken — Simon is a national organisation. I notice that Sam McGuinness [Dublin simon chief executive] was participating in the homeless forum and I’m sure he was making the case for Simon whether it was Cork, Limerick or Galway. But most definitely it’s an issue that has to be dealt with nationally.”

The figures for rough sleeping in Limerick have fluctuated while on Thursday night in Cork city there were 12 people sleeping rough.

Minister Lynch said some “immediate” steps might be possible outside of Dublin, adding: “I know there was emergency accommodation opened up by volunteers and I could see that coming into play again because it is getting very cold now. So that type of emergency accommodation I believe will have to play a part in it.”

The Cork City Homeless Forum is due to meet next Wednesday to discuss its Winter Strategy.