Peter McVerry Trust must show 'due diligence' regarding planning of state's largest homeless hostel - junior housing minister
by Ian Begley
JUNIOR housing minister John Paul Phelan has said that the Peter McVerry Trust must show due diligence regarding the planning of the State’s largest homeless hostel in Dublin.
On Tuesday, dramatic scenes erupted inside the Carmelite Community Centre on Aungier Street, Dublin as local residents voiced their opposition to a new hostel which will provide overnight accommodation for 150 adults at Avalon House.
The residents stressed they are not against the housing of homeless people. Instead, they objected to the decision being made without their knowledge.
Dublin City Council’s deputy chief executive, Brendan Kenny, and Peter McVerry Trust deputy chief executive, Brian Friel, were regularly met with jeers as locals argued they were not addressing their concerns.
Please log in or register with Independent.ie for free access to this article.
New to Independent.ie? Create an account
Members of a Dublin-based housing group were also asked to leave after Councillor Mannix Flynn was heckled when talking about his record helping the homeless.
He had called the emergency meeting after it emerged that the Peter McVerry Trust and the Dublin Region Homeless Executive (DRHE) intend to take over the Victorian building off Aungier Street, which includes cold weather beds for rough sleepers during winter.
Until recently it had been used as a backpackers’ hostel.
A lease on the building has now been signed by the trust, and it is envisioned that the hostel will open in January.
Speaking to Independent.ie, junior housing minister John Paul Phelan said that both the trust and the new owners have a responsibility to show that “due diligence” is carried out and that the “required consents” are in place, such as planning.
However, he maintained that the government and DCC have a requirement to accommodate people who have no homes.
“If we’re serious nationally about trying to address homelessness and rough sleeping, there will have to be more locations in Dublin city where they can be accommodated,” he said.
At Tuesday night’s meeting, Brendan Kenny said that the DRHE required 300 additional emergency accommodation beds.
“If we don’t get accommodation for people or more beds for people, more and more single people will become dead on the street,” he said.
Mr Friel said that while the charity appreciated local concerns, problems previously envisaged by communities where it has opened other hostels had not come to pass.
But Cllr Flynn vowed to take a High Court action to prevent the hostel from opening.
“I’m sick and tired of being railroaded,” he said.
“Stop trying to blackmail us in relation to those that are unfortunate enough to be on out streets in an awful state.”
He later accused DCC and the Peter McVerry Trust of leaving the community in “complete darkness”.
“This agreement was done in total secret,” he said.
One woman who was at the meeting feared the hostel would only “heighten the area’s drug and anti-social problem”.
“There’s a primary school just around the corner from where this hostel is supposed to go.
“It’s being placed in an area that is already inundated with similar facilities. Why can’t this hostel go out in D4 instead?”
A spokesperson for the Peter McVerry Trust told Independent.ie it has made contact with organisations and individuals in the community in addition to DCC and the DRHE.
They said in a statement: “Peter McVerry Trust, with the support of the DRHE and Dublin City Council, has announced this morning that Avalon House will be used as a family hub to support families out of B&Bs and hotels and assist them into housing.
“Peter McVerry Trust is committed, in partnership with the DRHE, to reducing homelessness across the city.
“We are the lead provider of Housing First, the sole purpose of which is to support rough sleepers into housing.
“We have 23 hostels (Supported Temporary Accommodation) which together provide 695 beds across the city delivering vital services to homeless people. We have 7 family hubs supporting 86 families out of B&Bs and hotels and assisting them to access housing.
“All of the above we do in partnership with the DRHE, Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government and with the support of the communities of which we are a part.
“Our planned new hostel at Avalon House was a sincere effort on our part to reduce street homelessness in the city.
“However, given the concerns raised about the concentration of hostel beds in this area of the city and following consultation with the DRHE, we now propose to reconfigure Avalon House into 30 suite family hub to support families out of B&Bs and hotels and assist them into housing.
“This will contribute considerably significantly to the plight of homeless families who need support to move towards housing.
“Housing is the primary goal in tackling homelessness and Peter McVerry Trust has increased its housing stock this year by 50 units and will increase this by a further 100 units in 2020.
“We have a proven track record of forging strong links with communities across the city and will continue our efforts to do so going forward.”
The DRHE said: “It is the intention that this facility will provide long-term stable placements, there will be no queuing for admission or congregating on the street outside.”