Newly elected Aontú councillor for Limerick City North, Sarah Beasley has called on Minister for Children, Equality, Integration and Youth, Roderic O’Gorman, to “consider Limerick’s homeless,” pointing to the rising number of those set to be housed in IPAS accommodation.
“It is estimated that approximately 340 men women and children will join the ever-increasing population of Limerick City. The old tax office in Charlotte’s Quay is under consideration for repurposing for the latest International Protection Accommodation Services (IPAS) facility,” Cllr Beasley told Gript.
As of 23 June 2024, over 31,000 people are being accommodated in the International Protection Accommodation Service (IPAS) system as a whole (of whom over 7,876 are children) compared with nearly 20,000 people at this time last year.
Councillor Beasley said: “It is absolutely devastating and unimaginable the lives these people are living as they flee war torn situations, leaving all they know behind. Limerick has been so welcoming over the past couple of years by way of letting rooms, homes, and hotels, raising money, feeding, and clothing some of these refugees. No one would wish this situation on these poor souls who are going through on their worst enemy.
“However, the truth of the matter is this decision has been made without the consultation of the Limerick people. It has been unilaterally decided that Limerick will have to dig deeper and suffer the consequences as already bugling health systems and public services are pushed to their limits.”
The politician and activist said that people who visit her office are “telling me that they are having to wait up to four weeks for something as simple as a GP appointment.”
“With the Government making Limerick open her doors even wider will only exacerbate situations like this which potentially puts current citizens at a health risk,” she said.
Cllr Beasley went on to urge Minister O’Gorman to visit Limerick, encouraging him to “weigh up all sides of a situation.”
“I am calling on Roderic O’Gorman, Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth of Ireland, to come to Limerick and show true leadership by discussing this first with the people of the city, rather than swiping a pen to sign off another building as a box ticking exercise, from afar. If he really is a minister for ‘Equality’ then he needs to weigh up all sides of a situation and consult with the good people of Limerick first as this affects everyone’s lives,” she said.
“The generosity, patience and accommodation that everyone in the city and county have shown so far is immense. People have changed their lives to literally house refugees in their own homes and make them part of their family. You can’t get more welcoming than that. Limerick has stood tall. It is time for other solutions to be thought of outside of Limerick.”
Cllr Beasley also pointed out that the homeless numbers in Limerick are the highest they have ever been.
“This building should be repurposed to manage that situation instead, by way of beds or addiction support.” Cllr Beasley concluded.
Discussions with the providers are at an early stage, according to the councillor, and a full assessment of the properties must take place before it can be deemed suitable.
Cllr Beasley, who, before being elected to the council in the local elections last month, said she wished to use her office to “highlight the fact that while Limerick is a gem, it is not shining as it should.”
She previously said that the Aontú office on Thomas Street in the city had been “absolutely inundated” with people coming to them with “truly serious problems.”
“They feel abandoned, ignored and hopeless,” she said.
Ms Beasley was elected on the 15th count, with 91 surplus votes. The former area representative said she would continue her work with homeless people and those with addictions in Limerick, citing those issues as being among her top priorities.