DUBLIN CITY Council workers are handing out sleeping bags to homeless people at night because access to emergency homeless services had become “disrupted”.
A council spokeswoman confirmed the move in response to a letter published in The Irish Timesfrom one of the foremost campaigners in the State on homelessness, who described emergency services in Dublin as being "in crisis".
Fr Peter McVerry said there were more people sleeping rough on Dublin streets “than at any time in the past 10 years”.
“Dublin City Council is reduced to handing out sleeping bags to many homeless people each night, as all the emergency beds are full,” he wrote.
Speaking yesterday he said he understood the “night bus” operated by Dublin City Council to bring homeless people to emergency beds at night was now handing out up to 30 sleeping bags a night as hostels were full.
Chief executive of Focus Ireland Joyce Loughnan said the charity was “very concerned about the growing difficulties in the emergency homeless services in recent months”. We have raised this issue with the Dublin Regional Homeless Executive . . . however, the reality is that progress has been unacceptably slow to date.”
A spokeswoman for the executive, which operates homelessness services on behalf of Dublin City Council, confirmed sleeping bags were being given to people instead of hostel beds where hostels were full.
She said the practice of providing an individual with an emergency bed for one night only was to be discontinued. Homeless services in Dublin were going through “considerable changes to improve the level of service provided, which can be disruptive for people who are accessing homeless services”.
She added: “The main intention is to try to minimise any disruption and to provide more stability to people who are in need of emergency accommodation and or sleeping rough.”
