Assaults, noise and access to kitchen facilities among issues complained of to Dublin homeless services this year

A married couple not being allowed to stay together, a broken bed that injured a child, harassment and assault by staff, and a snoring roommate are among the issues that prompted complaints regarding homeless services over the first half of this year.

The Dublin Regional Homeless Executive (DRHE) said it had received nearly sixty formal complaints to date in 2022.

Thirty-three of the complaints related to staff at hostels and accommodation while 10 were about living conditions in housing.

In one incident in January, a resident alleged that they had been assaulted by a staff member while three other complaints were made since then containing allegations of “harassment by staff”.

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A mother complained in February that she had raised an issue about a broken bed in her room, which has now “caused injury to her son”.

There were multiple complaints from people who were struggling to sleep due to other residents making noise including one “roommate [whose] snoring is keeping [the] client awake at night”.

In another similar complaint, a resident said they were being woken by staff at night.

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The theft of personal items was reported by one resident in June while a married couple logged a complaint when they could not be accommodated together.

One client complained that he had no access to food as he was at work during scheduled mealtimes and was prohibited from using the kitchen when he returned.

One resident appealed for a single room saying they were “being bullied by other residents”.

There were also complaints from non-residents with one councillor writing a letter about ongoing anti-social behaviour at a property used by the DRHE.

Complaints were made about houses or apartments in use through the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) Scheme with one member of the public raising “noise/narcotics from [their] HAP tenant neighbour”.

A complaint was also made by TD Róisín Shortall on behalf of a resident about the “conditions of [a] facility]” in use by homeless services.

A spokeswoman said: “The DRHE encourages anyone who uses a homeless service and wishes to make a complaint to contact us.

“All complaints are investigated within three weeks of being received, with a formal response issued to the individual who submitted the complaint. We use the complaints process to improve the services available to people experiencing homelessness.”