3434 Homeless Kids in Dublin – A Legacy of Shame for the Government, Says Ó Ríordáin MEP
The latest homelessness figures released today reveal a devastating new record – 3,434 children are now homeless in Dublin, with 15,378 people living in emergency accommodation across the country.
Dublin MEP and Labour Party Spokesperson for Dublin, Aodhán Ó Ríordáin, has slammed the Government’s inaction, calling the crisis a “legacy of shame.”
Ó Ríordáin said:
“It’s unfathomable. There are now 3,434 kids living in homelessness in Dublin. That’s 3,434 children without stability, security, or the basic dignity of a home. It is 3,434 stolen futures. The number of homeless children across Ireland has risen by 50 in just one month, and yet this Government continues to look the other way.
“I’d like to see a bit less concern in Government for the rights of Michael Lowry TD and a lot more concern for these children, who are paying the price for political failure.
“But we shouldn’t be surprised—this Government has shown zero interest in Dublin, its people, and its development. We are now witnessing a full-blown social catastrophe in our capital.
“In the Labour Party we have put forward real solutions, including transforming the Land Development Agency into a State Construction Company to deliver social and affordable housing at the scale required to tackle this crisis.
“At a European level, I have been working in the new European Parliament Housing Committee, to push for stronger protections for renters – through EU wide action on “no-fault evictions”; for greater investment in public housing, through reformed state aid rules; and an EU-wide strategy to combat homelessness – to meet the goal of eliminating homelessness by 2030 set down in the Lisbon Declaration.
“Housing is a fundamental right, and while this Government turns a blind eye, Labour is fighting in Ireland and across the EU to make that right a reality.”