Candidates in heated TV debate on Wexford homelessness
HOMELESSNESS in Wexford sparked a heated TV debate between European election hopeful Cllr Malcolm Byrne and newly confirmed FG general election candidate Verona Murphy when they both appeared as panellists on Virgin Media One’s Tonight Show, hosted by Matt Cooper and Ciara Kelly.
Disagreement arose after Cllr Byrne raised the issue of homelessness in County Wexford. He and other members of the panel took issue with Ms Murphy’s contention that housing is not the biggest issue in Co Wexford and with her statement that ‘ there’s no homelessness issue in Wexford, thank God.’
Ms Murphy was also widely criticised on social media platforms, following the Twitter hashtag of the programme.
Gorey councillor Malcolm Burne said that he was stunned by the comments made by Verona Murphy.
‘ The comments showed just how out of touch Fine Gael are when it comes to the homelessness crisis and the provision of housing,’ said Cllr Byrne, speaking after the programme.
‘She should have realised that housing is a huge issue. Not to realise that we do have homelessness in Wexford and that a lot of people in County Wexford can’t afford housing, makes her ill informed and a little out of touch,’ said Cllr Byrne.
‘ There are over 3,000 on the housing list in Wexford alone and I have visited many houses in the county where there are two and three families living in cramped, unsuitable conditions, sharing bedrooms and kitchen facilities with no private space for the kids to study. Fine Gael just don’t get it,’ he said.
Speaking to this newspaper, Ms Murphy, who is President of the Irish Road Haulage Association, said that she empathises with those in emergency accommodation in Wexford, and she is ‘ too well aware’ of the situation in the county around the affordability of housing.
‘Homelessness is an issue everywhere, but the situation in Wexford is not on a comparative level to Dublin or other large cities or urban areas in the country,’ said Verona Murphy.
‘ The problem in Wexford is not the same as in urban areas like Limerick, Cork or Galway,’ she added.
She said the homeless crisis is ‘ being dealt with very effectively,’ particularly highlighting the work of Wexford County Council to reduce the waiting time for those in emergency accommodation.
‘Wexford certainly has problems that need to be reduced, but they are solvable and they that are being solved under the guidance of the housing department of Wexford County Council, who are doing a fantastic job,’ said Ms Murphy.
With reference to her appearance on the programme, the Fine Gael general election candidate said that she ‘wasn’t able to get out there’ what she meant by her comments on housing, and she ‘wasn’t able to clarify her statements’ because of pressure from other panellists.
‘ There is nothing I can do now except inform myself and help the situation, and I can take a step to be part of the solution.’
She said that her aim, if elected a TD for Wexford, is to ‘work closely with Wexford County Council, to solve the problem of housing and homelessness once and for all’.
In a survey taken over a week in February, there were 64 people in Wexford living in emergency accommodation – hotels, hostels and bed and breakfast accommodation.