How much ...............more of the dribble of the Govt do we have to put up with ???

We saw last night on the TV, Father Peter McVerry tell us all that home lessness is at its worst point he has seen in 35 years. The local charities are running dry of funds to provide any kind of assistance. But we are spending €100 million to remove Newlands Xross on the Naas Road to offer a straight motor run from Belfast to Limerick.

We as a country have donated in excess of €3 million to the Phillipines. And IMO, quite right too.

We're sending Gilmore and Mickey D and the Trade Union heads off to a funeral commemoration to South Africa for Tuesday next for Nelson's funeral. And quite right too again. I ponder as to how much this will cost this wonderful generous nation, who as a people are renowned for their funeral attendances.

But does charity ever begin at home ?? We are dancing to the act of others but are happy to forget about our own at the most important time of year.

In essence you all voted in a Government who really couldn't give a damn about their own.

Fur Coat and No knickers springs to mind, at the very least.

charity never began at home in this country!...we would rather be seen to be giving to others than our own....sad but true.

mercman said:

But we are spending €100 million to remove Newlands Xross on the Naas Road to offer a straight motor run from Belfast to Limerick.

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Thats great news! Newlands cross should have been sorted with a proper grade seperated motorway standard junction decades ago. Any one have a link for this marvellous proposal

This might suffice your inquisitiveness [broken link removed]

And all for €100 million. But it really is only money !!

ajapale said:

Thats great news! Newlands cross should have been sorted with a proper grade seperated motorway standard junction decades ago. Any one have a link for this marvellous proposal

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It sure is, and work is already underway.

Regarding homelessness, more money and resources than ever are being thrown at the issue, so that's clearly not working.

Pretty unique case I'll grant you, but we now have guys with 130k in the bank choosing to be homeless.

I think McVerry over-simplifies the problem when he says the solution is for the government simply to provide homes for homeless people. Spending money on housing does nothing to address the root causes.

Also, as you're critical of Government spending on other matters, I presume you're aware that the Government provide over 60% off all finding to the McVerry trust (€4.6M last year). What other funding do they provide for other homeless services? Are we getting any value for this money?

'dribble' ?

drivel ?



The cost of sending representation to RSA would not provide meaningful and permanent redress for those facing homelessness.

The cost of alleviating homelessness is an annual and recurring cost. Newlands Cross is a capital programme, will provide employment and will be an important piece of infrastructure.

The Father McVerry Trust, and many others like it, are and will forever be dependent on the generousity of the public. Yestersay at Mass the second collection was for the VdeP and it was, encouragingly, a silent collection. Just the rustle of banknotes.

You and I can each do more to help the organisations that help the homeless. You and I cannot fund or build public infrastructure.

Leo said:

the Government provide over 60% off all finding to the McVerry trust (€4.6M last year). What other funding do they provide for other homeless services? Are we getting any value for this money?

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Psychiatric services are a major requirement coupled with a significant effort to deal with the drug problem in this country.

mercman said:

Psychiatric services are a major requirement coupled with a significant effort to deal with the drug problem in this country.

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And root causes like domestic abuse and educational fall-out. It's a very complex issue. What Fr. McVerry does very well is treat a symptom that is common to many problems. His trust is one of the charities I support (unlike the VDP who I would never give to).

mercman said:

Psychiatric services are a major requirement coupled with a significant effort to deal with the drug problem in this country.

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I think you missed the point there. You complained about the Government not spending money on this cause, and called out McVerry. In fact, the Government are the majority funders of his trust. And that isn't the only mechanism they fund homelessness or the frequently accompanying drugs issues. What about the €15M or so on methadone services, €3M a year on HSE detox centres, the residential and community based treatment programs, etc., etc..

The €100M being spend on Newlands Cross is peanuts by comparison!

Fine Leo, but what they are doing simply isn't working at any scope of the imagination. It just isn't that nice to see young persons slopped all over the streets as a situation for comfort.

I hope for all drivers sake that the Newlands Cross project goes somewhat better than many of the other issues.

Purple said:

And root causes like domestic abuse and educational fall-out. It's a very complex issue. What Fr. McVerry does very well is treat a symptom that is common to many problems. His trust is one of the charities I support (unlike the VDP who I would never give to).

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Just curious as to why you would never give to VDP?

mercman said:

Fine Leo, but what they are doing simply isn't working at any scope of the imagination. It just isn't that nice to see young persons slopped all over the streets as a situation for comfort.

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We should know the downside by now of throwing money at a problem rather than making sue we have best practice in place.

Liamos said:

Just curious as to why you would never give to VDP?

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It's a good few years since I had any direct dealings with them but when I did they gave money to people who really needed it but they also gave a large proportion of their money to people who didn't need it at all.
Their "we never say no" policy is just plain wrong.

mercman said:

Fine Leo, but what they are doing simply isn't working at any scope of the imagination. It just isn't that nice to see young persons slopped all over the streets as a situation for comfort.

I hope for all drivers sake that the Newlands Cross project goes somewhat better than many of the other issues.

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Exactly, and that's what I was trying to get across. Bringing up projects like Newlands Cross distracts from the issue. More will be spent on homelessness/drug addiction in 4 years than that project will cost. Newlands Cross will benefit ~200,000 journeys a day, so it's good value.

The real issue here, is what value is being derived from the vast sums spent on homelessness? Why isn't it working and what should be done about it?

The government policy over the past few years of making it harder and harder to get rent allowance is only going to add to the problem, any fool can see that.

pudds said:

The government policy over the past few years of making it harder and harder to get rent allowance is only going to add to the problem, any fool can see that.

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Rent allowance was only ever intended to be a temporary solution for any individual, but evolved into an effective permanent support to both the tenant and the landlord industry. Those on rent supplement are being moved onto the Housing Assistance Payment or into social housing via RAS or other schemes.