Councillor’s bid to highlight homeless crisis

A LOCAL councillor has created a tent city outside the offices of Dublin City Council to highlight the plight of the homeless.

Anthony Flynn, the founder and chief executive of Inner City Helping Homeless, who was recently elected to the city’s council, put up 16 tents on Wood Quay after his charity reported a marked increase in the number of people living in tents over the last few months.

ICHH carries out outreach work seven nights a week advocating for rough sleepers and helping them get into hostels. On Monday, the group said it had recorded the highest-ever number of rough sleepers in one night at 238.

Government figures for June showed there were 10,172 homeless people in Ireland – 6497 adults and 3,675 children – but charities argue the actual figure is far higher as certain groups are not considered in the statistics.

Speaking at Wood Quay, Mr Flynn said: ‘We have a serious issue in regards to rough sleepers in the city.’