Focus Ireland: The Government need to hold a referendum in order to tackle the current homelessness crisis – TheLiberal.ie – Our News, Your Views

Focus Ireland: The Government need to hold a referendum in order to tackle the current homelessness crisis




One if the country’s leading charity groupe Focus Ireland has called on the government to hold a referendum for ‘the right to a home’.

The news comes as the charity recently announced a five-point plan to tackle the current homelessness crisis. The charity say the next government seriously needs to address the situation and believe a referendum is needed to protect struggling families from vulture funds who buy their homes and leave them homeless. The charity group also revealed that there are currently more than 1,800 children in nearly 900 families who are homeless in Ireland.

The new plan reportedly includes commitments and deadlines to end family homelessness, long-term homelessness and to build at least 40,000 affordable social housing over the next five years. A Spokesperson for the charity, Roughan Mac Namara, also said that meaningful and urgent action is needed if there is any hope to ending the crisis.

Ms Mac Namara told reporters: “We need to move beyond, now, the soundbite sentiments of ‘everyone wants homelessness to be tackled and take the firm actions required, “The key ones include a cast-iron commitment to end family homelessness and a firm deadline to achieve this and also a firm commitment to build, and deliver, and monitor the delivery of 40,000 social homes over the lifetime of the next Government.”

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