Why Can't we do for homeless people what we do for asylum seekers?

Back in the late 90s , There was no such thing as the direct provision system (the system used today to house asylum seekers)

Asylum seekers arriving in Ireland would be on the same terms as other Irish Homeless People .

These terms meant that just like irish people who are homeless today, the local authorities would equally try to provide emergency accomodation to both groups of people .

But that practice of treating everyone equally ended in 1999 .

By 1999 , there was a huge increase in the number asylum seekers coming to Ireland,

The Eastern Health Board became worried that it would not be able to house these asylum seekers and they might become homeless , faced with this prospect of asylum seekers becoming homeless , the government sprang into emergency mode , pulled out all the stops and established a special system of housing for asylum seekers called 'Direct Provision' . 

This system of Direct Provision provides asylum seekers with "full board accommodation free of utility or other cost" which includes 5 meals a day , medical card , clothing , transport , schooling , mobile phone etc , many centres have high speed broadband access , gyms and other hotel like facilities . In addition , each person receives a weekly cash payment of €21.60 which is to be increased to €38.80 next year to buy Confectionery items etc .  

Below : Direct Provision housing for Asylum Seekers .



LETS TREAT EVERYONE EQUALLY

In the past 16 months 27 homeless people have died on our streets during the same period when our government are opening new accomodation centres for asylum seekers 

This year the Department of Justice added 7 new hotels to its portfolio of accomodation for asylum seekers bringing the total number of hotels / centres for asylum seekers to 40 spread accross 20 Counties ... Among those contracted this year were the King Thomond Hotel in Lisdoonvarna  , Temple Accommodation in Co Westmeath , the Hazel Hotel in Co Kildare , the Altantic Lodge in Kenmare Co Kerry , the Shannon key West Hotel in Leitrim/Roscommon, the Caiseal Mara Hotel on the Inishowen Peninsula in Donegal and the Grand Hotel in Wicklow all opening their Doors as accomodation for asylum seekers . The top Nationalites for residents living in such Centres are Nigeria  , Zimbabwe , Pakistan and Albania . There are No wars in these countries yet we are accomodating their citizens .  From 1999 - 2015 , the government has provided accomodation for 55,780 asylum seekers with an annual bill of € 60,000,000

If our Government can do this for asylum seekers , why not Irish Homeless People too and why didn't they do this back in 1999 , in 1999 , they made the ultimate decision that an asylum seeker has more rights to a home than an Irish Homeless Person .

Its absolutely horrible what the government are doing to their fellow man . Fr McVerry has described it as the worst homeless crisis since the famine .You go into Dublin City Centre , and there are young men sitting all day on the street . Please Think of what that must be like , how boring must it be to have nowhere to go during the day , to just sit in one place for hours on end , how lonely must it be . If only they could claim political asylum . look what my country is doing to me . These People deserve 'equality' , In the same way asylum seekers are housed , they too should be treated equally .   

How many more Homeless People have to die before our government will treat them equally ?.

Please give these people the same rights as asylum seekers . They are Cold , they are hungry , They are lonely , They have nobody on their side . They are the forgotten Irish . People walk by them and dont even realise they are there .

LETS TREAT EVERYONE EQUALLY .
God bless .



Below Lots of Accomodation for Asylum Seekers , but nothing for homeless people
            

Below: Nationality of Asylum Seekers (vast majority are coming from Countries NOT at war yet they are still provided with housing while homeless people are left on the streets .