Peter McVerry Trust opens Limerick social housing programme

A new social housing programme in Limerick run by the Peter McVerry Trust will begin today with five housing units set to open before Christmas followed by nine more in the new year.

The homelessness charity announced the launch of its new regional office in Limerick on Monday as part of its response to the State’s homelessness crisis and Limerick’s housing needs.

The charity plans to have 14 housing units ready by March 2017 with five of these due to open before Christmas. The charity, which says it is providing a “housing led response to homelessness”, is working in partnership with Limerick City and County Council to identify those in need of housing.

Chief executive of the Peter McVerry Trust, Pat Doyle, said the charity was already providing housing services in Dublin, Kildare and Laois as well as supporting hundreds of people in their own homes.

Emergency shelters costing Dublin City Council €1m weekly

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Tullamore restaurants to feed homeless on Christmas Day

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Legal notice served on activists occupying Dublin office block

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Over 20,000 homes in Dublin are vacant

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“Peter McVerry Trust has become a leader in providing permanent accommodation with wrap-around supports for people with a range of issues including mental health difficulties, addiction and family breakdown,” said Mr Doyle. “We treat people with warmth and respect, and support them to integrate into society and live a life of dignity, and that’s what we will do in Limerick.”

The social housing programme is being funded in part by the Capital Assistance Scheme and private donations to the Peter McVerry Trust.

Mayor of Limerick city and county Cllr Kieran O’Hanlon welcomed the arrival of services from the Peter McVerry Trust, saying the charity would complement the work of the Limerick Homeless Action Team.

The launch of the charity’s Limerick operations follows the move by housing activists in Dublin to take over an empty office block last week to accommodate the homeless in the capital.

The activists, including a number of high profile artists and musicians and calling themselves Home Sweet Home, gained entry to the vacant office building, Apollo House, last Thursday.

Emergency accommodation

The most recent rough sleeper count in November, found 142 people sleeping rough in Dublin and 77 people sleeping on roll-out mats in the Merchants Quay night cafe, bringing the total number of adults unable to access an emergency bed to 219.

More than 4,000 adults were accommodated in emergency accommodation in Dublin in the third quarter of 2016, according to the Dublin Region Homeless Executive (DRHE). This marks the highest number of adults accommodated in emergency accommodation to date.

The Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (ISPCC) reported last week that 2,470 children were experiencing homelessness, an increase of 44 children in one month, with a further 1,608 children living in emergency accommodation in the Dublin region. The ISPCC warned that these children were worse off than children who are homeless in the UK due to a lack of legal protections.

Meanwhile, new figures from the DRHE show that Dublin City Council is paying hotels, hostels and other emergency accommodation providers almost €1 million a week to shelter homeless people in the capital. The figures show that for the nine months to the end of September this year the average weekly spend on emergency accommodation works out at €968,148.

The spend for the first nine months coincided with the numbers of homeless families going over the 1,000 mark for the first time in Dublin at the end of September.