Ryan calls on Kildare County Council to up its game in relation to homelessness.
Sinn Féin TD for Kildare South, Patricia Ryan, has called on Kildare County Council to up its game in relation to homelessness for the coming winter.
Speaking in her office in Leinster House, Patricia said:
“I have written to Kildare County Council to ask about their readiness relating to Homeless Accommodation as we come into winter. I was dismayed to read recently that there will only be an additional 8 beds for the whole county as part of this year’s Cold Weather Initiative. I am concerned in particular about the number of single people presenting as homeless in recent months that are being turned away from Aras Cill Dara, some of whom are now sleeping rough. At the same time I am aware that the council is paying to keep beds empty in some establishments in the County as a contingency. This is shocking considering we have people sleeping in tents. I have asked for a commitment that people presenting as homeless are treated with compassion and that every effort is made to accommodate them. Last week we saw the deaths of 5 homeless people and I am anxious that we not have any more deaths due to homelessness.”
“Yesterday I spoke in the Dáil in a debate about the budget. There was no mention of renters in the budget. Government policy with an over reliance on HAP to help their landlord friends has led to long housing lists, couch surfers and unfortunately, an increase in rough sleeping. Winter is here and we need urgent action if we are to prevent more deaths from happening. Five homeless people have died in the last two weeks.
These people were more than statistics, they were real living human beings. We need to do more. I often say to people that the Government must have nobody belong to them that experiences our public housing list or our health service, because if they did it would have been fixed long ago.
The situation is inhumane, animals have been treated better. The system is broke and if this government is not going to fix it, they should stand aside and let someone else have a go,” she concluded.