Homelessness protesters vow to fight on

Protesters today pledged to keep fighting in their bid to hand a petition on homelessness to Taoiseach Bertie Ahern, as calls for a Dáil debate on the issue were refused.

Around a dozen campaigners wanted to personally present Mr Ahern with 20,000 signatures supporting their demand to use money from sale of the UCD Veterinary College site – which raised more than €170m – to help people living rough in Dublin.

But although the Taoiseach did not turn up outside Leinster House to receive the petition, the protesters said they would not give up attempts to see it got to him.

The protest follows a previous demonstration last week in which a group charged through security barriers into the courtyard clutching the signatures.

Today campaigners were met with a heavier-than-normal garda presence and the main gates were closed, but despite a brief dispute with officers over where they could hang their "the homeless are revolting" banner, it did not appear they would attempt to repeat the stunt.

However, John McArdle, who has been living rough in Dublin for more than five years, said they were not prepared to give up.

“We want to see the Government provide proper homes for the homeless to live in – we don’t want to see any more deaths on the streets,” he said.

“The Government is just ignoring us, we’re just like a piece of dirt on the ground.

“We need some respect off the Government,” he said.

Homeless group Street Seen, which organised the protest, said if Mr Ahern would not meet them outside the Dail they would take the petition to his Drumcondra constituency office and sleep outside until he took notice.

Meanwhile, in the Dáil, Labour Party chief whip Emmet Stagg’s request for a special debate on homelessness was turned down.

Mr Stagg said it was possible to end the scandal of deaths on the street, but it required political will to act.

“While the government wastes public money on daft and grandiose schemes the number of homeless has increased by really frightening numbers.

“This is a direct result of neglect by Government ministers of the issue of housing and the causes of homelessness.

“It should be clearly understood that persons, old or young, who are forced to sleep in the open, particularly in severe winter conditions are vulnerable to many high winds and to dying from the cold,” the Labour TD said.

Street Seen spokesman Mark Grehan labelled the Government’s refusal to debate the issue a disgrace.

“Members of the homeless community are dying on our streets while the Government ignores their desperate plight.

“We must ask why the Government is refusing a debate on this issue – is it that they are afraid of being exposed for doing nothing on this issue, or is it that they just want to ignore this issue in the hope that the protestors will go away?” he said.