THE MINISTER FOR Housing has strongly condemned the reported physical assault of a woman living in a homeless hostel by a member of staff working there.
Speaking today during Leaders’ Questions in the Dáil, Social Democrats Deputy Leader Cian O’ Callaghan raised the case of the woman, who he said he would refer to as ‘Mairead’, with Darragh O’Brien.
He described a video he had seen of the assault, which he said took place on 2 August at a privately-run hostel which is contracted by the State.
“The incident is recorded on video and it clearly shows the male staff member telling Mairead that she is a piece of junk before threatening to hit and crush her.”
“The staff member then hits Mairead and knocks her to the ground [in doing so],” O’Callaghan said.
He asked O’Brien what action he will be taking in light of the incident, and what follow-up support has been given to Mairead since the assault.
The incident referred to in the Dail today was first reported by Dublin Inquirer earlier this month.
The publication reported that the incident took place at a hostel in Dublin’s south inner city.
It said that the assault took place after the woman was asked to leave the accommodation but refused to do so until the hostel arranged another bed for her elsewhere, which it is supposed to do in accordance with the national standards for homeless accommodation.
Dublin Inquirer further reported that Mairead was left sleeping on the streets in the weeks following the incident.
The Director of the Dublin Region Homeless Executive (DRHE) yesterday acknowledged the incident in a city council housing committee meeting.
Mary Hayes said that the violence towards a service user was “unacceptable”, and apologised to the victim.
A spokesperson for the DRHE said they understood that Mairead has reported the incident to the Gardaí, and stated that it had been in touch with Gardaí also.
They further said that the DRHE understands that the hostel staff member involved in the incident “no longer works for the company” that owns it.
“The way the service user was spoken to, even before the incident happened or escalated, is completely below the standards we would expect from anyone that we are paying public money to, to provide a service,” Hayes said.
O’Brien condemned the incident, calling it a serious instance of “assault”.
“That is a very serious thing. There are many committed people working in our NGOs right through this country, and working in emergency accommodation, both
State run and privately run, and that is not the experience that the majority of people [living in these facilities] will encounter”, he said.
The minister added he would like to know where the incident took place, adding that he would raise the matter with the DRHE himself if it took place in Dublin.
He said that the perpetrator needs to be investigated, and that he would take the matter up as a “matter of priority”, and work to “make sure Mairead has the support she needs”.
In a previous statement issued to Dublin Inquirer, the Department of Housing had said that it was aware of the “very serious and distressing incident”, and that the matter was “of serious concern to the Minister”.
A department spokesperson added that it was satisfied that the DRHE was taking appropriate action.
The Journal has asked the Gardaí for an update on the investigation into the incident.
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