IT BRINGS SHAME ON ALL OF US

When asked if he is ashamed of Fine Gael’s record on homelessness ,Varadkar says:

THE housing crisis ‘brings shame on us all’, the Taoiseach said yes- terday after he was pressed over his Government’s record on helping the homeless.

Leo Varadkar made his remarks after a chain of politically damaging events in the past 24 hours directly related to the crisis.

■ A homeless woman in her late 20s was reported dead at her hostel accommodation in Dublin;

■ An African immigrant maimed during a tent ‘clean-up’ operation had rejected a place in emergency accommodation because of the many drug addicts staying there;

■ Images of an elderly woman eating her dinner off a window sill on a Dublin Street went viral on the internet.

When pressed, the Taoiseach said: ‘I’m deeply saddened by the homeless crisis that we face as a country.’

And while he moved to highlight some of the progress that Fine Gael has made on the matter, he acknowledged some of this work had not been enough.

‘When it comes to rough sleeping,

‘Homelessness is a stain on society’ ‘The system is in complete turmoil’

we know that the whole Housing First policy does work and as a result of that the number of people sleeping rough has actually gone down.

‘Take the whole wider issue of homelessness for example – the only way we’re going to solve that in the medium term is to invest in social housing.

‘And last year we added 10,000 houses to the social housing stock, more than any government under any party has done in 20 years.

‘But it’s not enough,’ the Taoiseach admitted.

He said that if he is reelected, he is committed to building ‘more and more houses’.

‘We’ve doubled housing supply since I became Taoiseach. But it’s not enough,’ he said. ‘We need to double it again and I’m the person that wants to drive that forward so that we no longer have to see these tragedies happen.’

Pressed again by the Mail on whether he was ashamed of his party’s record on the issue, Mr Varadkar said: ‘I think everyone feels shame at the housing crisis, not just me, I think everyone does in society.’

He continued: ‘And I’ve often said that I believe homelessness is a stain on our society. It is a reflection of one of the things that’s going wrong in a country where most things are going right, and I’m determined to continue that work, if I’m re-elected.

‘We’ve 10,000 people in emergency accommodation at the moment. That’s a staggering figure. It’s totally unacceptable. It brings shame on us all quite frankly.’

The Taoiseach’s comments followed news of a young homeless woman’s death in a hostel in Parkgate Street, Dublin.

She had been living in emergency accommodation at the Phoenix Lodge hostel, sometimes referred to as Judge Darley’s, which provides 24-hour emergency accommodation.

The alarm was raised after the woman was found in her room by staff, who then rang emergency services.

‘Gardaí were called to the scene of a sudden death of a female in her late 20s that occurred at approximately 5pm on Wednesday, January 15,’ a Garda spokesman said.

‘A file will be prepared for the Coroner’s Court.’ Members of the Dublin Region Homeless Executive attended the scene after the tragic discovery.

‘The DRHE, on behalf of the four Dublin local authorities, would like to express its condolences to the family and friends of the individual,’ a spokesman said.

It is understood that the young woman had been staying at the hostel for about two months.

Staff at the hostel declined to comment when approached by the Mail last night.

Councillor Anthony Flynn, chief executive of Inner City Helping Homeless, said he was ‘extremely saddened’ to hear of the woman’s death.

He said: ‘We are putting people into inhumane conditions at the most vulnerable time of their life. People deserve dignity and stability, but the current system, in spite of staff trying their best in difficult circumstances, is simply unfit for purpose. This is just another example of the chaotic system that is in place.’

Mr Flynn called for a review of the Dublin city-centre hostel, which is run by a private contractor.

‘The system is in complete turmoil, he said. ‘We need a review of this facility; who were the staff who were in that facility yesterday? Had they appropriate training to deal with issues that this girl had?

‘I’ve asked for that, and I’ll continue to try and find some better inkling into what happened.’

emmajanehade@dailymail.ie