Paul KeenanA Capuchin friar famed for his work with Dublin’s homeless and vulnerable has warned that poverty levels in the capital are comparable to those of 1916.
Speaking to The Irish Catholic this week, Br Kevin Crowley described the situation for the poor in Dublin as“a disaster”.
“In 1916 we had poverty,” he said, “and we still have it, and it is getting worse.”
He went on to reveal that, just before speaking to this newspaper, he had overseen the supply of dinners to 562 people.
“We need to get people, families off the streets now,” he stressed and lamented the continuing lack of affordable houses as a root of the problem. “We can’t keep sending people to hotel rooms.”
Br Kevin described as “pathetic” the everyday reality of “watching little kids leaving here to go to hotels where they can’t reheat the takeaway dinners we offer.”
In addition to the high numbers seeking hot dinners daily at the Capuchin Day Centre, Br Kevin revealed that the Centre continues to offer hundreds of hot breakfasts each morning in addition to nearly 1,700 food parcels weekly.
The figure of food parcels, Br Kevin pointed out, is a massive surge on the high of 400 given out weekly at the height of Ireland’s recession.
Demand
“It’s appalling that so many are coming in 2016,” he said, adding that the centre is now stretched by demand even more than when it opened in 1969.
Meanwhile, the De Paul Trust, which caters to the needs of homeless families has urged the Government to increase efforts to meet the needs of homeless families in Dublin and beyond.
“Latest figures from the Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government show that house completions have increased and are at their highest level since 2010,” De Paul said in a statement. “While this provides a glimmer of hope, house completions are still falling far short of the 30,000- 35,000 homes required annually to meet demand.
“If we do not urgently accelerate the provision of social and affordable housing in Ireland, vulnerable families and children will continue to fall through the cracks.”
The Capuchin Day Centre will hold a one-day collection outside the GPO in O’Connell Street with a volunteer choir this December 10.
