Dublin mayor to meet providers of soup kitchens over proposed draft bylaws

Taoiseach and Fine Gael leader Simon Harris (centre) with TD James Geoghegan (left) and Lord Mayor for Dublin Emma Blain. Picture: Brian Lawless/PA

The lord mayor of Dublin is planning to meet providers of soup kitchens later this week over proposed draft bylaws that would prohibit volunteer groups from providing on-street food to the city’s homeless.

Dublin City Council is working on new bylaws that would seek to regulate on-street soup kitchens, restricting where they can operate from and ensuring they comply with food safety regulations.

The bylaw would prohibit charitable groups from setting up services, including hot food, to people on the city’s streets.

Families queue up at The Lending Hand, a soup kitchen feeding up 300 people every Monday evening on College Green in Dublin city centre (Niall Carson/PA)

Long queues of people are regularly seen outside the GPO on O’Connell Street during the day and in the evening, waiting for hot meals and drinks.

The introductions of new bylaws was recommended as part of the Taoiseach’s Taskforce for Dublin report, which called for the development and enaction of new byelaws to regulate on-street charitable services such as soup kitchens and other services.

The move has been criticised by some of the providers, while a large crowd gathered outside City Hall to protest against the proposed plans.

Lord Mayor of Dublin Emma Blain told PA news agency: “What I want to do this week and what I’m planning to do at the end of the week, is to visit some of those soup kitchens and talk directly to the providers and listen to their concerns and meet the people that they’re that they’re catering to.

We all spoke in support of the fantastic work that soup kitchens do, and that's where we are at the moment

“That’s what my plan is for this week, take it back to my fellow councillor and we will discuss it then.”

She added: “It’s something that’s under review at the moment.

“I think you would have seen in our council meeting last week that all councillors, across the board, of course, all political parties, are really supportive of the work that soup kitchens do.

“So there are no bylaws drafted at the moment.

“There’s nothing to review at the moment, but I think we all spoke in support of the fantastic work that soup kitchens do, and that’s where we are at the moment.”