Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien has said he would not stand over comments made by the CEO of Dublin City Council who said homeless tents add to the perception that the capital is unsafe.
He also vowed that “no one will be without a bed this winter.”
Owen Keegan, CEO of DCC sparked outrage recently when he said the number of tents in the city “adds to that perception of you know, an edginess about the city.”
In an interview with the Irish Mirror, Minister O’Brien reacted to Mr Keegan’s comments and said: “I’m not blaming people for if they’re living in a tent that they make parts of the city feel unsafe.
“No, that’s not something that I would stand over or that I would say.
“Frankly I didn’t discuss that with Owen.
“But no frankly the issue is making sure people feel they don’t need to be in tents, that’s the thing.
“I know in fairness to Owen and Dublin City Council, they’re very focused on reducing homelessness and that’s the right thing to do.”
In an interview with Newstalk in August, the council chief said the presence of tents adds to “the perception” that the city is unsafe.
He said: “There are other aspects like the proliferation of tents and I suppose I’ll get into trouble for saying this, but we don’t think people should be allowed to sleep in tents when there’s an abundance of supervised accommodation in hostels.
“There’s a massive pressure to allow people to just camp on the street and that adds to that perception of an edginess about the city.”
Mr Keegan said he did not accept the argument that some homeless people feel safer on the street rather than a hostel.
He said “we remove tents, it’s something we do.
“It’s not very popular but we do it because we don’t believe it’s appropriate.”
Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien told the Mirror that he accepts some people feel safer on the streets but said standards have improved greatly in many hostels.
He added: “I think everyone knows the best place for people if they don't have their own home, that they’re in safe, emergency accommodation.
“For many people it isn’t the best place to be in a tent and particularly as it comes into winter and it’s not safe.
“But some feel that it’s safer than emergency accommodation.
“We’ve seen significant improvements in the quality and rightly so, of standards in emergency accommodation, better own room, better facilities and wrap-around services as well on the health side.”
Minister O’Brien also said “no one will be without a bed this winter.
“If anyone needs a bed who is sleeping rough, there will be beds available.
“Any measures that are needed to provide additional emergency accommodation will be done.”
He acknowledged there has been an increase in single adult homelessness and said he is working on securing more accommodation to accommodate single people.
The Housing for All plan states the State aims to eradicate homelessness by 2030.
