FF calls for time specific taskforce on child homelessness

​Spokesperson on Housing, Darragh O’Brien TD has today called for the establishment of a time specific taskforce to address the crisis in child homelessness in Ireland.
Deputy O’Brien made his call following reports this week that a young mother, Margaret Cash and her six children including a one year old baby were forced to sleep in their local Garda Station because they had nowhere else to go.
He commented, “The homelessness situation in the country is shameful - Nothing short.
“The reports which emerged from Tallaght this week are appalling but shockingly this wasn’t an isolated incident. Several families across the country had been left with no other choice but to present themselves and their children to a Garda Station for accommodation.
“Surely we have the resources and the capacity at the very least to ensure that children do not have to sleep in Garda Stations?
He added, “The number of children living in homelessness has been steadily on the rise, that’s even clear from the Department of Housing’s own data. Despite these rises the Government have continued to turn a blind eye to the problem and tolerate the consistent neglect of homeless children.
“I have contacted the Minister for Housing, Eoghan Murphy TD and have arranged a meeting to urge him to support our call for the establishment of this taskforce.
“There are of course other abject failures occurring in housing more generally but child homelessness is a crisis that must be urgently solved. The welfare of children in this State must be protected at all costs,” concluded Deputy O’Brien.