Homeless people in tents adds to  Dublin's 'perception of edginess', says council boss

Owen Keegan said that the capital had a ;perception issue' along with what he called "low-level" anti-social behaviour. Picture: Sasko Lazarov / RollingNews.ie

Homeless people sleeping in tents add to a "perception of edginess" in Dublin, the chief executive of the city council has said.

Speaking to Kieran Cuddihy on Newstalk's The Hard Shoulder, Owen Keegan said that people "should not be sleeping in tents". 

He said that the capital had a "perception issue" along with what he called "low-level" anti-social behaviour.

"There are other aspects, like the proliferation of tents, and I’ll get into trouble for saying this, but we don’t think people should be allowed sleep in tents when there’s an abundance of supervised accommodation in hostels. 

"We’ve had up to 100 or 150 beds available every night for homeless people, and we would have thought that it’s not unreasonable that in those situations, if you’re homeless, you’d go into a professionally managed hostel.

“And that adds to that perception of an edginess about the city”.

Mr Keegan said that the council's policy of removing tents was "not popular", but said that the policy is that hostels are safer.

“There is an issue that if you’re in a hostel, which is a congregated setting, there has to be some limits on your behaviour and some people find that very challenging.

“I still think you’re better off in there, where you can access services in a much safer environment than being out on the street.”

Mr Keegan was speaking after the random attack on Irish Olympian Jack Woolley on Friday. 

The 22-year-old had been enjoying a night out with friends when he says a gang of men and women "began violently attacking people".

"Unfortunately I was victim to these random attacks as I was just walking by, before I was punched in the face by one of these group members," the Olympian said.

He was taken to St James's Hospital where he underwent surgery.

Mr Keegan said that gardaí “will probably say that, objectively, Dublin city is very safe", but that reports of attacks were concerning.

“It’s not just the frequency of media reports of lone individuals being attacked, but we’ve had evidence of groups of young people, congregating, drinking and causing a whole lot of low-level anti-social behaviour.

“So I think all that adds up and creates a perception that Dublin isn’t a family-friendly place or friendly for women. It’s the perception that matters, and if people feel that it’s unsafe that’s enough”.