We’re shameless - Homeless and frostbitten

DESPITE everything, despite years of what we call “austerity”, despite a growing and unacceptable inequity, this country has never been richer, it’s citizens have never been better off. We are, by and large, a comfortable society even if some people, through no fault of their own, struggle with hardship every day.

It is, therefore, an indictment of shaming proportions for each and every one of us that the Simon Community have reported that it has seen cases of frostbite and trenchfoot among the homeless people living on the streets of Cork city.

Homelessness is always a complex issue with many causes and consequences but even when you acknowledge these, it is an outrage, as we approach the great festival of consumerism and excess, that in 2016, any citizen of this Republic should be so exposed, so neglected and so coldly forgotten.

Where is our outrage? Where are the Government services entrusted with offering refuge to those who need it? Where is our sense of humanity or Christian caring? Destitution and frostbite in Ireland 2016? Have we no shame?