Support from readers like you keeps The Journal open.
You are visiting us because we have something you value. Independent, unbiased news that tells the truth. Advertising revenue goes some way to support our mission, but this year it has not been enough.
If you've seen value in our reporting, please contribute what you can, so we can continue to produce accurate and meaningful journalism. For everyone who needs it.
ON THIS DAY one year ago, the body of 43-year-old Jonathan Corrie was found in a Dublin doorway just a stone’s throw from the building in which this country’s government makes its most important decisions.
The father-of-two had struggled with drug and alcohol addiction for years and had been living in Dublin for eight years. His death, on a cold winter night, sparked nationwide outrage and demands for real and tangible action to be taken to tackle what has become a huge crisis.
It pushed Environment Minister Alan Kelly to convene an emergency summit on homelessness, bringing together all of the key parties in one place to come up with a solution. The immediate response was to make additional 220 emergency beds available in Dublin.
Local authorities in Dublin were directed to put 50% of all new housing allocations towards vulnerable groups, to provide accommodation for over 300 people.
Kelly told reporters that there would be no need for anyone to have to sleep rough in Dublin “unless they make that choice themselves”. These were described by the government at the time as short-term responses.
‘They’re trapped’
One year later and homeless service providers say those short-term responses never developed into long-term solutions.
Niamh Randall of the Simon Communities told TheJournal.ie that homeless numbers have continued to grow and are continually met with emergency provisions.
The challenge now is that we don’t have the option of moving people on, they’re trapped in emergency accommodation.
“We need to move away from this emergency-led response and look at prevention and keeping people in their homes.”
The most significant change in Ireland’s homelessness problem has been the increase in the number of families losing their homes. An average of 70 to 80 families become homeless every month in Dublin alone and the key reason is the struggle to keep up with rent increases.
Randall said her organisation welcomed Kelly’s announcement of a two-year rent freeze but it was rent certainty that was needed and that has not been delivered.
“The second piece that hasn’t happened is rent supplement – it remains at the level that was set in June 2013, yet we know rents have increased by over 20% since then,” she said.
An analysis of rent markets by the charity in August this year revealed only 7% of properties fell within rent supplement parameters, and in some areas there were no homes at all.
Though she welcomed the government’s social housing strategy, she said things just are not moving fast enough with just 20 new houses being built in the first half of this year.
Advertisement
Department of the Environment
Department of the Environment
‘Not good enough’
Sister Stanislaus Kennedy, the founder of Focus Ireland, has said despite government promises about homelessness being top of the agenda, the crisis has deepened.
“When most people think of homelessness, they think of a man in a sleeping bag in a shop doorway. This is the most visible and tragic manifestation of homelessness,” she said.
“People in this situation usually have complex needs such as mental health or addiction. Many grew up in state care and left at 18 without any support. People in these situations often need intensive supports. Offering them a bed for one night and out on the street in the morning to spend the day looking for a bed for the next night is simply not good enough.”
She too was critical of the failure to deliver rent certainty:
The two year rent freeze which he is introducing may slow the rent spiral, but thousands of families are still burdened with the massive rent rises of the last two years. If rent supplement is not increased to reflect the 30% rises that have already hit them, they will continue to lose their homes.
Winter 2015
Almost 2,500 adults without children are now homeless across the State, along with 1,571 children, and 980 parents.
The latest short-term response from the government has come in the form of a Dublin ‘cold weather action plan’ providing for an extra 174 emergency beds as well as accommodation for couples and families.
Last year’s provision of beds filled up rapidly, with figures for June this year showing 1,975 of the available 1,977 beds were occupied.
Latest tough sleeper figures indicate there are 105 people sleeping rough, though the Inner City Helping Homeless group says it interacted with 145 rough sleepers last Saturday night.
Government politicians have said the 175 new emergency beds should be sufficient to see people through the winter months. But the Simon Communities’ Niamh Randall says the fact that last year’s emergency beds were filled up so quickly shows there is a gap between rough sleeper figures and the reality.
In response to a query from TheJournal.ie, Alan Kelly’s department said that at the end of September, 739 ‘households’ (comprising individuals and family units) had exited homeless accommodation and moved into “verified and sustained tenancy arrangements”.
A spokesperson said the long-term solution to homelessness is to increase the supply of homes. The government plans to provide 35,000 new social housing units over a six-year period.
Other actions the department mentioned included:
Reforms to the private rental sector;
The 500 modular housing units to be provided in Dublin;
A 32% increase in homeless funding next year;
Returning derelict or unused social housing units to use, with the expectation that 2,500 will be returned this year;
Using former NAMA properties in south Dublin to provide 65 units for families.
While it looks like, in the short term, no one will be left without a bed this winter if they want one, we are still a long way off the government’s target of ending long-term homelessness by 2016.
“We’re just consistently looking at short-term emergency responses. We know that being homeless is extremely stressful, it’s actually very traumatic and the longer people remain in this temporary accommodation the greater the impact on their overall health and wellbeing,” Niamh Randall said.
We have a history of short-term solutions becoming long-term and people deserve much better than that.”
Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone...
A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article.
Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation.
Report cleared her? Scandal after Scandal dogged her and her predecessor, Like the report concerning Naughten nothing to see here move on… What happened to the investigation relating to the millions missing in the Templemore?.. What happened with the written off penalty points?.What happened to the missing mobile phones and laptops?. The deputy leader of the blueshirts Michael Martin very quite on these subjects.
@Patrick Nolan: I’ll be in the North West for the weekend, is there any regional events on, you know … where there is absolutely no problem with homelessness. Why call it “National” when it is a Dublin specific issue?
That’s why nobody is being prosecuted for harassing a whistleblower almost to his death. Same for the garda in the pub with the rat effigy of MacCabe. No prosecutions ,and that ain’t out of loyalty to the state.
@Picture This: I don’t think online harassment is a crime, unless it is tied into a wider (non-online) harassment. Phoning an individual up repeatedly is harassment, while repeatedly posting malicious lies online isn’t (again, due to early precedence when judges didn’t get computers being their interpretation of offences against the person)
@Gulliver Foyle: ask the blogger that was stopped at Dublin airport by detectives for writing negatively about Regina Doherty… by the way its alleged a commissioner sat in a politicians car in a shady car park meeting to tell him your man a kiddy fiddler and you in serious trouble, any excuses for a criminal investigation being initiated there… so regardless to what illegal or not it seems our politicians don’t have an appetite for justice.
@Micheal McGee: how much revenue do you reckon the garda dragged down the road in Carrickmackross generated? Or the garda on the drugs squad in Store Street who had acid thrown at him?
@Colette Kearns: Officially, the taoiseach is loyal to the people. The difference is it is to ALL people, and not just those that share opinion with you (or me, for that matter). Don’t confuse loyalty with treachery.
@Dave Doyle: Because people who say “we pay your salary” to garda are absolute twits.
You don’t say that to your nurse do you?
The gardai are there to serve & protect and by in large do a decent job, they don’t need someone shouting nonsense at them.
@ppayment, Exactly my point. The Garda do not need a twit in a suit, who collects the largest social welfare payment, in this country shouting at them. And I don’t need his lackeys attempting to bully me on this page. Get back in your box little man.
Its very hard to take leo at face value. Whatever he says, behind it, he’s probably thinking there’s one set of laws for himself and FG, and there are other laws for everybody else.
I hope to inspire the Gardai, to work as hard as me, to be the shield that protects the taxpayers from the hostile elements of society. I am confident my brilliant wisdom bestowed on these brave people will be used.
Thank you journal for showing these pictures, I am truly Ireland’s most charismatic, most trusted and inspiring leader.
so Leo is now popping up at the cops passing out parades to give inane motivational talks to new recruits, what next will he be turning up at teachers and nurses conferring ceremonies ?
If he is serious about reform in AGS, then we need less platitudinous blather and more action in relation to the wrongs uncovered by the disclosures tribunal , destined to gather more dust on another shelf in the DOJ
What a tool, his loyalty is to himself and definitely not his position in Government. He makes Enda Kenny’s term as Taoiseach look reasonable. A dreadful leader of Government, caught up with spin and more spin and manipulation of the media. The men of 1916 must be turning in their graves. Country is soulless with the morons in Government and the tool from Cork is a disaster. A bumbling gobsh@te
What a plonker he’s worse than Bertie he’d turn up at the picking of a. Snot if he get a photo op and at least Bertie never looked down his superior nose at you – off course the uniform didn’t safe Maurice McCabe as it was those in uniforms who pilloried him
In fairness, Leo would know a lot about loyalism, seeing as he’s been spending so much time recently wearing orange and meeting with his new BFFs in the lodge.
Some lines from Shaw to stew on. Pick out your own gems but I like “not intelligent, only opinionated” and “not loyal… only servile” or, how about “not dutiful, only sheepish; not public spirited, only patriotic.”
“Your friends are all the dullest dogs I know. They are not beautiful: they are only decorated. They are not clean: they are only shaved and starched. They are not dignified: they are only fashionably dressed. They are not educated: they are only college passmen. They are not religious: they are only pewrenters. They are not moral: they are only conventional. They are not virtuous: they are only cowardly. They are not even vicious: they are only “frail.” They are not artistic: they are only lascivious. They are not prosperous: they are only rich. They are not loyal, they are only servile; not dutiful, only sheepish; not public spirited, only patriotic; not courageous, only quarrelsome; not determined, only obstinate; not masterful, only domineering; not self-controlled, only obtuse; not self-respecting, only vain; not kind, only sentimental; not social, only gregarious; not considerate, only polite; not intelligent, only opinionated; not progressive, only factious; not imaginative, only superstitious; not just, only vindictive; not generous, only propitiatory; not disciplined, only cowed; and not truthful at all: liars every one of them, to the very backbone of their souls.”
The gardi are a digrace to their uniform they should be disbanded as were the ruc
Too much corupption for too many years,
For people to have any respect for them they need a new name and a new begining
And its the ones at the top of the force are poisoning the the ones at the bottom, terrible for a country not to have faith in their own police force, it demoralizes the whole country
Loyalty to the people should be shown for the past as well as the present. It seems that the past has been forgotten about as far as Leo and Drew is concerned. I’m sure they know what I mean.
It takes a lot of manpower to generate over 2 million fake breath tests and nobody lost their job over it. Appatently it was a crime too widespread to investigate !! No sacking over the Templemore financial wrongdoing . No sacking over the scrubbing of penalty points for Gardai and family members . GRA were quiet boys when Sgt McCabe was persecuted.
A grossly overpaid bunch of whingers layabouts and incompetents.
National Parks manager says there was a ‘sinister element’ to Co Mayo fires
1 hr ago
3.6k
4
spinal surgery scandal
‘Damning litany of failure’: Calls for investigation of governance at Children’s Health Ireland
2 mins ago
5
beaufort
Boy killed after being struck by tractor in Co Kerry this evening
17 hrs ago
37.3k
Your Cookies. Your Choice.
Cookies help provide our news service while also enabling the advertising needed to fund this work.
We categorise cookies as Necessary, Performance (used to analyse the site performance) and Targeting (used to target advertising which helps us keep this service free).
We and our 164 partners store and access personal data, like browsing data or unique identifiers, on your device. Selecting Accept All enables tracking technologies to support the purposes shown under we and our partners process data to provide. If trackers are disabled, some content and ads you see may not be as relevant to you. You can resurface this menu to change your choices or withdraw consent at any time by clicking the Cookie Preferences link on the bottom of the webpage .Your choices will have effect within our Website. For more details, refer to our Privacy Policy.
We and our vendors process data for the following purposes:
Use precise geolocation data. Actively scan device characteristics for identification. Store and/or access information on a device. Personalised advertising and content, advertising and content measurement, audience research and services development.
Cookies Preference Centre
We process your data to deliver content or advertisements and measure the delivery of such content or advertisements to extract insights about our website. We share this information with our partners on the basis of consent. You may exercise your right to consent, based on a specific purpose below or at a partner level in the link under each purpose. Some vendors may process your data based on their legitimate interests, which does not require your consent. You cannot object to tracking technologies placed to ensure security, prevent fraud, fix errors, or deliver and present advertising and content, and precise geolocation data and active scanning of device characteristics for identification may be used to support this purpose. This exception does not apply to targeted advertising. These choices will be signaled to our vendors participating in the Transparency and Consent Framework.
Manage Consent Preferences
Necessary Cookies
Always Active
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work.
Targeting Cookies
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
Functional Cookies
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then these services may not function properly.
Performance Cookies
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we will not be able to monitor our performance.
Store and/or access information on a device 111 partners can use this purpose
Cookies, device or similar online identifiers (e.g. login-based identifiers, randomly assigned identifiers, network based identifiers) together with other information (e.g. browser type and information, language, screen size, supported technologies etc.) can be stored or read on your device to recognise it each time it connects to an app or to a website, for one or several of the purposes presented here.
Personalised advertising and content, advertising and content measurement, audience research and services development 146 partners can use this purpose
Use limited data to select advertising 116 partners can use this purpose
Advertising presented to you on this service can be based on limited data, such as the website or app you are using, your non-precise location, your device type or which content you are (or have been) interacting with (for example, to limit the number of times an ad is presented to you).
Create profiles for personalised advertising 85 partners can use this purpose
Information about your activity on this service (such as forms you submit, content you look at) can be stored and combined with other information about you (for example, information from your previous activity on this service and other websites or apps) or similar users. This is then used to build or improve a profile about you (that might include possible interests and personal aspects). Your profile can be used (also later) to present advertising that appears more relevant based on your possible interests by this and other entities.
Use profiles to select personalised advertising 85 partners can use this purpose
Advertising presented to you on this service can be based on your advertising profiles, which can reflect your activity on this service or other websites or apps (like the forms you submit, content you look at), possible interests and personal aspects.
Create profiles to personalise content 39 partners can use this purpose
Information about your activity on this service (for instance, forms you submit, non-advertising content you look at) can be stored and combined with other information about you (such as your previous activity on this service or other websites or apps) or similar users. This is then used to build or improve a profile about you (which might for example include possible interests and personal aspects). Your profile can be used (also later) to present content that appears more relevant based on your possible interests, such as by adapting the order in which content is shown to you, so that it is even easier for you to find content that matches your interests.
Use profiles to select personalised content 35 partners can use this purpose
Content presented to you on this service can be based on your content personalisation profiles, which can reflect your activity on this or other services (for instance, the forms you submit, content you look at), possible interests and personal aspects. This can for example be used to adapt the order in which content is shown to you, so that it is even easier for you to find (non-advertising) content that matches your interests.
Measure advertising performance 136 partners can use this purpose
Information regarding which advertising is presented to you and how you interact with it can be used to determine how well an advert has worked for you or other users and whether the goals of the advertising were reached. For instance, whether you saw an ad, whether you clicked on it, whether it led you to buy a product or visit a website, etc. This is very helpful to understand the relevance of advertising campaigns.
Measure content performance 61 partners can use this purpose
Information regarding which content is presented to you and how you interact with it can be used to determine whether the (non-advertising) content e.g. reached its intended audience and matched your interests. For instance, whether you read an article, watch a video, listen to a podcast or look at a product description, how long you spent on this service and the web pages you visit etc. This is very helpful to understand the relevance of (non-advertising) content that is shown to you.
Understand audiences through statistics or combinations of data from different sources 76 partners can use this purpose
Reports can be generated based on the combination of data sets (like user profiles, statistics, market research, analytics data) regarding your interactions and those of other users with advertising or (non-advertising) content to identify common characteristics (for instance, to determine which target audiences are more receptive to an ad campaign or to certain contents).
Develop and improve services 84 partners can use this purpose
Information about your activity on this service, such as your interaction with ads or content, can be very helpful to improve products and services and to build new products and services based on user interactions, the type of audience, etc. This specific purpose does not include the development or improvement of user profiles and identifiers.
Use limited data to select content 37 partners can use this purpose
Content presented to you on this service can be based on limited data, such as the website or app you are using, your non-precise location, your device type, or which content you are (or have been) interacting with (for example, to limit the number of times a video or an article is presented to you).
Use precise geolocation data 47 partners can use this special feature
With your acceptance, your precise location (within a radius of less than 500 metres) may be used in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Actively scan device characteristics for identification 27 partners can use this special feature
With your acceptance, certain characteristics specific to your device might be requested and used to distinguish it from other devices (such as the installed fonts or plugins, the resolution of your screen) in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Ensure security, prevent and detect fraud, and fix errors 93 partners can use this special purpose
Always Active
Your data can be used to monitor for and prevent unusual and possibly fraudulent activity (for example, regarding advertising, ad clicks by bots), and ensure systems and processes work properly and securely. It can also be used to correct any problems you, the publisher or the advertiser may encounter in the delivery of content and ads and in your interaction with them.
Deliver and present advertising and content 100 partners can use this special purpose
Always Active
Certain information (like an IP address or device capabilities) is used to ensure the technical compatibility of the content or advertising, and to facilitate the transmission of the content or ad to your device.
Match and combine data from other data sources 73 partners can use this feature
Always Active
Information about your activity on this service may be matched and combined with other information relating to you and originating from various sources (for instance your activity on a separate online service, your use of a loyalty card in-store, or your answers to a survey), in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Link different devices 55 partners can use this feature
Always Active
In support of the purposes explained in this notice, your device might be considered as likely linked to other devices that belong to you or your household (for instance because you are logged in to the same service on both your phone and your computer, or because you may use the same Internet connection on both devices).
Identify devices based on information transmitted automatically 91 partners can use this feature
Always Active
Your device might be distinguished from other devices based on information it automatically sends when accessing the Internet (for instance, the IP address of your Internet connection or the type of browser you are using) in support of the purposes exposed in this notice.
Save and communicate privacy choices 69 partners can use this special purpose
Always Active
The choices you make regarding the purposes and entities listed in this notice are saved and made available to those entities in the form of digital signals (such as a string of characters). This is necessary in order to enable both this service and those entities to respect such choices.
have your say