Dublin South West TD, Seán Crowe, has described Taoiseach Leo Varadkar’s comments at the Fine Gael Annual Conference, regarding homelessness in Ireland being low by international standards, ‘as cold comfort’ to the all those families and individuals currently sleeping rough or reliant on homeless accommodation.

Deputy Seán Crowe:

“The Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, either doesn’t care enough or hasn’t grasped the scale of Ireland’s current homelessness crisis. We are facing into the winter and the homeless numbers continue to rise unabated.

“His Fine Gael Conference remarks downplaying Ireland’s homeless numbers will be of cold comfort to families and individuals sleeping rough in doorways, basement car parks, public green areas, or in cars tonight. It also insults the thousands of people who are couch hopping in a friend’s house or are crammed into in hotels and B&B’s or family hubs and hostel accommodation.

“The main statistic that the Taoiseach and the Government should be focusing on is the more than 8,000 citizens, including over 3,000 children, who are currently without the prospect of a home. This is happening on his watch and as a result of the policies he and his Cabinet colleagues continue to justify and stand over. His remarks were a disgrace and totally insensitive to the thousands trapped in Ireland’s homeless crisis.”

ENDS