Call for provision of beds for homeless addicts

It has been revealed that there are only seventeen beds available in Ireland for young homeless people with drug or alcohol addictions.

Dublin’s "Clancy Low Threshold Shelter" is calling for the provision of services to deal with an

increase in numbers.

They say they need new premises to meet the needs of young people with addiction problems because many other shelters refuse to take them in.

The demand for beds at the shelter far exceeds existing accommodation.

Pat Doherty, the director of the Depaul Trust which runs the shelter, says: "Last year there were no services in Dublin that could cater for the clients we are working with. As a result, many of these young people would have been out on the streets for months and months."