In Revolt: Homeless Citizens To Propose A Motion at D.C.C.

by dunk Tue Oct 25, 2005 16:13

apoligies for lateness in posting
http://www.indymedia.ie/newswire.php?story_id=72641

by dunk Tue Oct 11, 2005 18:18

these recording of the homeless sleepout will be broadcast on moore st later today, a radio crew will be going up to the spike and turning it into the antenna for the moore st radio station
join us in a half hour

by someone Wed Oct 05, 2005 01:28

some time ago I was walking past the dail with a friend and saw as we came up to it some people camped outside. We were trying to figure out who it could be and I made some joke about fine gael getting an early start but lo and behold...
Ogra fine gael, sleeping outside the dail. They said they were there protesting against homelessness. Bizarre.
We asked if any homeless people had been informed and they changed the subject. We offered to let some know about it and they said that it was ok, they could come if they wanted to (but looked uncomfortable with the idea).
At one point a garda came up and asked who was in charge and they pointed at this one guy, him, he's our leader, we cant think for ourselves...
Anyway, nice to see some people who know something about the reality of homelessness making a stand.

by Street Seen Tue Oct 04, 2005 10:04 streetseen04 at hotmail dot com

Street Seen Press Release
3rd October 2005
Picket at Dublin City Council meeting, City Hall, Dame Street, 6 o’clock

Homeless Picket Dublin City Council Meeting

Homeless protesters will picket the Dublin City Council meeting on Monday the 3rd of October. The picket is being called by Irish Anti Poverty paper Street Seen. Street Seen, organisers of the homeless sleep out at Leinster House on Tuesday night, have gathered over 5,000 signatures since Thursday evening in support of an Emergency Motion being placed before Dublin City Council. The emergency motion calls on the government to hand over the old UCD veterinary buildings in Ballsbridge to Dublin City Council for the express purpose of dealing with the housing crisis.

Spokesperson Mark Grehan said

“This motion is a step in the right direction for Dublin City Council. The homeless community of Dublin is facing a desperate winter unless drastic action is taken. Homeless people are dying on the streets of Dublin and all we have got from our government is silence. It is a sad indictment of this government that they spent more on the e voting fiasco than they spent on dealing with the homeless crisis this year.”

Mark Grehan continued by saying

“We have gathered over 5,000 signatures in support of this motion over the last few days in Dublin. This shows the level of support that is emerging on this issue. We will not be ignored, we have slept outside the Leinster House already, and if this government continues to ignore us we will sleep outside Leinster House permanently.”

For further details please contact:

Mark Grehan 087 7974622
Jon Glackin 087 0541947

Editors note

Emergency Motion: “That this City Council calls on the government not to sell the former UCD Veterinary College, Dublin 4 but instead hand it over to Dublin City Council with a view to alleviating the housing crisis in the City."

by barry o' sullivan - street sceen Tue Oct 04, 2005 00:54 baret at o2 dot ie homless

Yes i am homeless .
And i will not give up the fight on till .this problum is solved at the moment we .
The homeless are going to be at stevens green shoping center.with our pitision .
we are going to be there all week as long as it takes. so please come allong and sign our pitision. and buy or magazine street sceen .
today monday 3/10/05 we went to the .
dublin city council meeting .to loby our motion and the the security would not let us in.even thou we had passes. you ask why becouse we did not look the part .in othere words becouse we are homeless.

by Mary Jane Sun Oct 02, 2005 11:56 no fixed abode

hey jon
you look like your psyching out gerry in the pic up there
keep up the good work
"''
o

by Jon Glackin - Street Seen Sun Oct 02, 2005 11:42 streetseen04 at hotmail dot com 0870541947

SO anxious were the people for the return of their beloved politicians that many of them made the journey to our national parliament to welcome them back, and some even slept outside the Dáil the previous night.

Well, it wasn’t quite like that.

Six different groups of protestors greeted TDs when they returned from their three-month holiday to let them know that the world hadn’t stopped in their prolonged absence.

You might be hard-pressed to guess what heartless third world country was referred to in two different stories on the same day this week which reported that its leaders let people die in the streets while at the same time millions of taxpayers’ money was wasted.

It sounds like a third world country, but it isn’t. Its leaders like to boast that it’s one of the wealthiest countries in Europe, which it is.

It’s Ireland.

It’s the Ireland the Government and the opposition parties don’t want to know about - but as they returned to our national parliament they were confronted by the appalling disgrace which they ignore.

Members of the homeless community were driven by desperation to highlight the plight which has seen several of their numbers die on our streets, by sleeping outside Leinster House on Tuesday night.

It must have been desperation that forced them to sleep outside the Dáil. God knows, there are enough people sleeping inside when it’s open.

Meanwhile, a psychiatrist - singular - chosen to work with homeless people in Dublin had his job offer withdrawn because of a row over funding. This happened a mere week after three homeless people were found dead on our streets. Incidentally, those deaths could only prompt 200 people to protest on the streets of Dublin.

It seems the consultant wanted a number of specific supports to help in his job and the Health Executive Northern Area management’s excuse was that its budget could not stretch this far. The job would have involved dealing with the mental health needs of about 1,000 people.

The HSE Northern Area budget would have been well able to stretch if the Government, its departments and agencies were not so profligate with taxpayers’ money by wasting it on string of wasteful projects, or simply not collecting it - like the €173 million in unpaid taxes the Revenue Commissioners wrote off last year.

The attitude to public money by the Government virtually amounts to criminal negligence.

The sleep-out by the homeless was organised by anti-poverty newspaper, Street Seen, and one of the organisers, Mark Grehan, said the homeless community had met nothing more than indifference from the Government.

“Failure to act will result in more deaths on our streets, deaths caused by the indifference of our Government,” he said.

Theirs was just one of the protests. Other issues included the Rossport Five, a prison site, asylum seekers, and the murder of a Dublin man.

continues: http://www.examiner.ie/pport/web/opinion/Full_Story/did-sg6VkF632RpJosgHuTLc4nqWo2.asp

by Observer2 Sun Oct 02, 2005 01:04

or you could ask the press officers of the charities whether they had recieved any communications from the Homeless Agency regarding the sleep out on Tuesday and employees involvement in it or attendence at it.

by In awe! Sun Oct 02, 2005 00:27

i am in awe of john and all that his street seen are up to.
Someone at last is leading and driving a movement that enables people without shelter to fight for shelter.
You stand in the tradition of connoly and larkin
at last the poor are getting off their knees
keep it up

by Observer2 Sat Oct 01, 2005 23:08

He should be able to answer your questions!

by eeeekkkkk Sat Oct 01, 2005 22:09

take a little time to transcribe the voices in various clips above.

Great job audio swarmers :-)

Someone who knows details about this below should spell them out. Where is this (which I've seen mentioned on here a number of times) info from?

"week, where workers in the homeless secor came under government attack and the agencies they work for were issued with implied threats of loss of funding"

by RobbieS Sat Oct 01, 2005 21:52 robbiesin at gmail dot com

The first clip is a 4 minute interview with the homeless athlete and performer Gary Wilf ('Chill Will') recorded in Washington DC on Sun September 25th.

To listen on broadband (128kbps/FMQuality) click
http://radio.indymedia.org/uploads/dchomeless.mp3

The second clip is about 17 minutes and is a series of interviews with some of those attending the Street Seen sleepover at the gates of Dáil Éireann, recorded at around 11 p.m., Tuesday September 27th.

To hear this clip on broadband immediately (128kbps/FMQuality), click next link
http://radio.indymedia.org/uploads/2005.9.27.streetseen.mp3

Notice in this clip that some scathing things are said about authorities and charities alike, but no government bullying could ensue because; we didn't ask 'who are you?' knowing that we're all equal in our humanity.

To download via 56k modem visit the final link and right click either of the two mp3-links and "save target as"...

by Observer2 Sat Oct 01, 2005 21:20

The homeless sector used to be served by two groups, the churches and charities such as dublin simon. With the setting up of the homeless agency that situation changed and homelessness became an industry. Actually it became the homeless sector of the social care industry! Today those same churche projects and charities are run professionally along businness models, they compete for government funding. They dare not speak out for fear of losing funding.

The events of last week, where workers in the homeless secor came under government attack and the agencies they work for were issued with implied threats of loss of funding, show the government attitude to this and all other voices of dissent. They threaten, cajole and intimidate. The threats issued last week from govt departments through the homeless agency are not only indicative of the current governments lack of concern for societys most vulnerable: they are a threat to the rights of Irish citizens to expess their opinion, peacefully. What are we to expect next? To be labelled "subversives" and have military intelligence sleeping out among Dublins homeless?

The silence from those who claim to lead the organisations who are providing most of the services in the homeless sector is a scandal. One of the speeches above is by Damien Moran a member of dublin catholic worker: where is the voice of the leadership of his church and the others who claim to be "spiritual leaders" in this city. When are they going to speak out against the injustice that is homelessness. Why are those who preside over this disgrace welcomed in their places of worship.

It is not only Leinster House that should be picketed. It is all those involved in the so called social partnership. The trades unions also have to answer for this along with the churches and the charities. Dublins homeless need advocates, let those who claim to be the voice of social justice speak out with those they claim to lead.

by Jon Glackin - Street Seen Sat Oct 01, 2005 16:53

Deadly!!!
At the moment we are outside Stephens Green Shopping Centre, Grafton Street... petitioning the public to support our emergency motion.. over 4000 signatures in a day and a half!! Sounsystem blasting out and loads of heads about..come down and join us today, tommorow or whenever as we are not going anywhere special...Check the indy events regularly for announcements...
The Homeless are revolting.... Join them.....

by Davy Carlin - Street Seen Sat Oct 01, 2005 13:11

Excellent round up coverage Dunk

by Me - in a personal capacity Sat Oct 01, 2005 12:34

If it was anyone else making racist comments like that they wouldn't have been let on the newswire.

Good job the rest of them, heard it was a good night.

by dunk Fri Sep 30, 2005 21:19

more photos and text at
"Bertie, Where's Our Houses?"
http://www.indymedia.ie/newswire.php?story_id=72197

senator terry leydon has given his guarantee he will do all he can, will it be enough?

keno and thor (mister finland)

keno and senator terry leydon

gerry adams comes over to the lads

another photo shoot with another journo

one fellow human being who will be sleeping rough tonight