‘Some people with three cars don’t have room to park them’
Locals in leafy suburb faced with influx of homeless air concerns...
THE leafy avenue that leads onto Clontarf’s seafront is one of north Dublin’s most desirable addresses. And this week St Lawrence Road hit the headlines after Dublin City Council paid €1.8m for two houses on the road to be used for homeless accommodation.
Residents were incensed when it emerged that the Housing Agency had bought the two properties on behalf of the Dublin Region Homeless Executive to house 13 homeless families in a ‘family hub’.
Residents spoke of their concerns for the plight of their potential neighbours, suggesting the council was trying to shoehorn too many people into the properties. But
‘People are worried it will devalue houses’
when the Irish Mail on Sunday visited St Lawrence Road this week, some admitted the plight of the homeless was not the only thing on their minds: house prices and parking were also a worry.
Deirdre Prendergast, who lives on St Lawrence Road, said that while the residents accept people need to be housed, some locals already struggle to find space to park: ‘Some people have three cars in the same house and they don’t have room to park them as it is. People have to be housed but I think the living conditions there won’t be good. If you spent that money on apartments it would be better spent. People are worried it will devalue their houses.’ Another resident, Emer Grier, voiced concerns about parking and feared those placed in the accommodation would have addictions: ‘At the moment you can’t park on this road. They have issues with addiction,’ she said. Tony McNally of the residents’ association said he did not wish to comment on the views of his neighbours. His wife, Mary McNally, had previously told The Irish Times that she had been given a ‘Good neighbour policy’ leaflet which outlines house rules and daily collections for injecting equipment.
However, the MoS understands it will be families, and not people with addiction problems, who will be housed on St Lawrence Road.
A Dublin City Council spokeswoman defended the purchase, insisting that the new ‘family hub’ is a more cost-effective method than housing people in hotels.
‘The cost of investing in a property such as this is weighted against the cost of commercial hotels for homeless families, which, as you are aware, was €40m in 2016. This is part of a region-wide response to provide family-appropriate emergency accommodation and is one of 18 family hubs. This service will have the capacity to provide play space, cooking and laundry facilities and communal recreation space for 13 families,’ she said.
The council confirmed a number of residents raised concerns but that management from Dublin Region Homeless Executive met them to discuss their concerns.
Homeless campaigner Peter McVerry said: ‘I don’t know the building but in principle I’m in favour of homeless families moving in and it will be an improvement on what they’re living in now. We have a homeless crisis like we’ve never seen before in this country and we have to do everything we can to combat it.’ There are 1,091 homeless families nationwide, 695 of whom live in hotels.