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LAST UPDATE | 14 Jan
AN POST HAS said the GPO is “totally unsuitable” for use as a soup kitchen after the Labour Party called on its CEO David McRedmond to open the underutilised building to services that need them.
McRedmond chaired the Taoiseach’s Dublin city taskforce that made the case against on-street soup kitchens in the city centre. The services could become more regulated through new bye-laws that were recommended by the group last year.
Dublin councillors stressed last week that it was not the intention to ban the services, but ensure correct protections are in place.
Labour councillor Dermot Lacey today said that An Post should provide the GPO as a space for homeless and other, similar services to operate indoors.
He argued that if the soup kitchen services were moved inside the GPO, on a temporary basis, it would negate most of the issues cited in a 2021 report by one social policy expert that said they disrupted businesses and created an intimidating atmosphere in the city.
The report, which was used by the taskforce in its recommendations, added the model of on-street food services contributed to an increased level of anti-social behavior in Dublin and was “inherently undignified and is potentially unsafe”.
Lacey said McRedmond has been vocal about moving soup kitchens and other food services for homeless people off the streets and into indoor places.
He said that the GPO, as a central and symbolic location, has the facilities to provide a short-term solution.
An Post moved the majority of its employees out of the GPO in 2023 following the launch of its new headquarters on North Wall Quay in Dublin city and its CEO McRedmond recommended, in his role on the taskforce, that the service sell the building.
Lacey argued that the “underutilised” facilities in the GPO would serve as suitable and temporary measure, until a long-term solution is found. He said it was “vital” that the services continue to operate for those in need in the city.
“I’m calling on An Post to engage with community organisations and the City Council to explore the feasibility of opening the GPO canteen as an indoor soup kitchen,” he said.
“Let’s act now to provide immediate support while building for the future.”
In a statement to The Journal, a spokesperson for An Post said the venue was “totally unsuitable” for use as a soup kitchen site.
“This is not a trivial issue,” the service said. “The Dublin Taskforce Report’s recommendation concerning soup kitchens, which was informed by experts in homeless support services, is for a professional approach and customised facilities.”
Some councillors have supported ideas such as permit applications and requirements for operators to train volunteers in food safety and social care while others claim the council is attempting to regulate compassion.
Speaking to The Journal last month, the head of Muslim Sisters of Éire – a group that feeds the homeless on Dublin’s streets – Lorraine O’Connor said that more time and attention should be directed to solving issues around homelessness.
An Post has been contacted for comment.
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Perhaps they could try to solve the initial cause of homelessness instead. Why not use all the underutilised churches in the meantime.
@Tony Doran: unfortunately addressing the root causes doesn’t fit in with the goal of keeping a ‘there-but-for-the-grace-of-god-go-I’ caste and stay a good compliant citizen
@Tony Doran: How would you accommodate people inside a building with a 30 ft ceiling. How are you going to heat it? Is it properly sealed? Is everyone going to live in one big room? How are you going to partition a building with 30ft ceiling. How much would it cost to do that? Has to be one of the dumbest suggestions to the housing shortage that I have ever seen. There is 10s of thousands of vacant properties that are built to live in, an example would be a building called a house. Not a church. Churches are not designed for people to live in.
@Joe Willis: why would you have to partition a church to use it to serve food to homeless people? Nobody mentioned using churches to accommodate people but you
@Tired Jim: I’m sure the church would be very welcoming to you Jim, don’t sell yourself short.
@Tony Doran: why not boot the dole leeches out of prime city centre real estate and in to caravans in the country?
Free up housing stock for workers.
@Joe Willis: put the homeless people into the GPO
@Joe Willis: Ah Joe, were you triggered? If you don’t understand the proposal we can break it down for you. The churches would only be used as soup kitchens and not for accommodation. There was no mention of churches being used for housing so you can stop worrying about the heating bills. Bit of a stretch for ya I know but persevere with it. Oh and thanks for your incredible insights on what churches were designed for. You must be exhausted carrying around all that irrelevant brilliance.
@Tony Doran: So to stop the feeling of intimidation and disruption, they bring all the homeless to O’Connell street. Why not open a centre for methadone there as well. Tourist would love it. The GPO is a visual relic of our history and struggle for independence. It is a sacred building.
@Tony Doran: trouble is there’ll always be homelessness some people chose to be homeless due to eviction or substance abuse and or antisocial behaviour it’ll always be a thing but if the government or new government wanted to at least put a dent in the figures
@Nemethon: You are correct, there will always be some homelessness, due to mental health issues, addiction, etc, but that level of homelessness would be the 1980′s level of 1500 people, not the current 7700 people.
In addition we have a hidden homelessness crisis of adult children living at home in their childhood bedrooms, and not because they are all unemployed layabouts, but because they can’t find or afford a place of their own, even while working full-time.
Worse still they have resigned themselves to the fact that this will never change, and they have also been gradually convinced that they themselves are somehow at fault for this state of affairs, so instead of taking to the streets to protest the goverment failure to build social housing, they keep their heads down in shame.
@Tony Doran: Why not use the mosques they keep building in this country instead of churches? Especially since the majority of migrants coming in are Muslim and you are pro Muslim
@Paul: Why not send all these foreign immigrants home and stop taking more in? We are a small country and cannot house them and it’s not our job to either.
@Tony Doran: Ah but you aren’t suggesting using mosques are you pro moslimer?
@Enoch Kochwomble: Use the mosques instead
@den: Kick the foreign immigrants out then there will be more room for the Irish homeless in hotels and hostels
@Tony Doran: I bet the moslim sisters of éire cult suggested this. Always trying to look like do gooders when they are the ones trying to convert this country into moslims and build more mosques. Can’t afford to insult the Catholic church if you are pro Palestine, pro moslims coming here and pro moslim religion. The most violent, obnoxious and backward religion that is not considered a cult but should be. So the irony actually.
@Beachvibe: But do the fiddle with altar boys?
@Sal Paradise: Your moslim brothers in Iraq are the ones who just legalized marrying children sir. That’s what you stand for. Your people.
Leinster house would be better.. it’s rarely used.
Labour Party, clutching at straws to try and remain relevant.
@Machine Learning IRE: Liberty Hall. ?
The champagne socialists could dip their hands in their own pockets and give some of their lotto style salaries over to the less well off.
The National Gallery is underutilized as well. Could be a thing. The National Concert Hall also – it’s not really serving basic social needs, does it? Food for thought #SocialDems !
@smatrix mantra: Dail Eireann should be first on the list so
@smatrix mantra: have you been to either venues lately?
@smatrix mantra: Lol! lets lower our standards to the floor.
Absolutely not need to be removed from O’Connell street at least try and reclaim it
@Dave G Doe: You are such a nice person…
@Donna Fallon: He is not wrong
They should use the Israeli embassy for the Soup Kitchen as it’s empty or give it over for Asylum seekers or Palestinian refugees
@Chaotic State: They should use mosques since they are even less welcome in this country that churches and since you are pro moslim yourself
@Chaotic State: Let me guess. You are anti Catholic and anti Christian but you want Palestinians coming here who are Moslim. You want more mosques in this country and more conversions for the most violent, oppressive, obnoxious and backward religion in the world. Now explain that logic?
@Beachvibe: mosques already provide a service
to the poor and have done for sometime.
Let the poor live in them then. Why should an Irish building cater to a foreign religion, the most oppressive in the world, when it could be housing these homeless? Many in fact people like you inflicted on us because they aren’t even from here
Sadly health, homeless and housing are only important to the media and politicians for chatter and click purposes. We read and hear about the Same issues over the last 30 years and we’ll see the same issues reported over the next 30. Nothing will change. And we can be sure there’ll never be the same constant focus on the other issues such as the challenges working taxpaying households face, we’re guilted into thinking we can’t complain or be represented when there are folk worse off. But if tax and inflation continue on the same trajectory a lot more of us will fall into that “worse off” bracket.
@Jack: Nothing will change because we keep importing illegal immigrants
Plenty of churches around that only have a few people in for sunday mass, they could be used by the soup kitchens
@he didnt take the 120k because he already got it s: why just churches, what about the mosques (some illegal) they can be used also if that’s your thinking.
@he didnt take the 120k because he already got it s: Plenty of mosques that are even less welcome being built because of you anti Catholics and pro Moslims. Put your immigrant friends in there
@Maire Hicks: See Maire Moslim religion is the most violent and oppressive in the world but the anti Catholic pro Palestine Irish are ironically pro Moslim. They would never suggest insulting their precious mosque
They should just carry on as they were. Ignore the law. Let them get arrested for feeding the homeless. The optics of this and the resulting outcry would soon have the law reversed.
@Enoch Kochwomble: Hooray! Are we friends now?
@Chop Chop: Exactly imagine the optics of jailing people cos they fed the homeless, the dail mob would all go into hiding and the media would be drooling at the prospects of the non stop coverage and clickbait articles on it…..would be a giant mess for the DPP and courst
Why does public office attract some of the greatest fools in the country ?
Maybe some dogooder could finance a court case on behalf of our own homeless!
@paul brierley: George soros
It’s a pity the GPO doesn’t have a closed-down café at the back that could be used as a soup kitchen.
@Enoch Kochwomble: Should deport the foreign immigrants to make more space
Could let all homeless sleep there too.
Once the Yunkies, drunks, and wife beaters are given sleeping bag, tents, and food they do not bother using the hostals.
@Enoch Kochwomble: It’s always a foreigner defending the ruination of this country gee wonder why
Royal Hospital Kilmanhan
Would be ideal, totally under used by the arty farty work dodges. Very well maintained kitchens and dinning hall.
@H Woo: Simply send the immigrants home then there will be lots of space
Send the migrants home. Start deportations and stop accepting them. We clearly cannot house them. We are a small country and that is not our job. Their countries also hold no value to us and never helped us. The GPO is no place for that. Who suggested that let me guess, muslim sisters of éire? Funny how they would never suggest housing them in their mosques though
They could move them in the NCH, I mean its never ever gonna actually open with the way BAM are saddling the cabbages in power with the delays and money, least someone might get use out of the 2 billion and counting monster
Why not it’s already a slum
Thank fk we don’t have to listen to those mus lim mingers going on about this anymore
We should be provided with some where to shelter the homeless while there eating and then they would just head of in the night to find a place to sleep. I’ve been feeding the homeless now well over a year outside GPO. Half of what ye are saying is totally not true. Let’s get a place at the dail so we can help those in need
@GiGi Tammy O’Dwyer: There are plenty of mosques where they can be fed and housed missus. Especially since half the homeless we are importing are from moslim countries.
100s of millions being spent on empty useless cycle lanes that block traffic, incl buses. Can we not use this money for homeless accommodation?
@NotGreta: We would have a lot more to spend too if we didn’t keep importing other countries homeless. Shocker
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