Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection Joan Burton has today indicated that the current ban on bedsit accommodation in the capital may be lifted, in an effort to tackle the spiralling homelessness crisis.
The announcement comes right in the wake of Jonathan Corrie’s death close to Leinster House two days ago, and the shocking revelation today that homelessness in Cork has risen by over 500% in the last three years.
The previous government effectively shut down the availability of bedsit accommodation in Dublin. This, in tandem with the financial crisis, only compounded the problem of homelessness in the capital and elsewhere.
But the issue of people without a roof has now reached crisis point.
Landlords have been calling in recent months for the ban to be lifted, but these calls have gone unheeded.
It has taken the tragic and lonely death of a homeless man to kickstart the Government into motion, as usual, too late.