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Coveney: 'No five-year-old child should be eating their dinner from cardboard on the street'

A photo posted on online in recent days shows a boy eating his dinner from a piece of cardboard on the street.

TÁNAISTE SIMON COVENEY has said it is “not acceptable” that a five-year-old child had to eat his dinner on the streets of Dublin. 

His comments come after an image emerged on social media in recent days of a homeless boy named ‘Sam’ eating his dinner from a piece of cardboard on the ground in Dublin.

Sinn Féin TD Pearse Doherty raised the issue in the Dáil today during leaders’ questions. 

“The Homeless Street Café, the volunteer group who met Sam on Tuesday night, made clear that his mother is trying her best to provide nutritious home cooked meals for her children but like so many parents of the homeless children of this State they live in emergency accommodation that strictly forbids them cooking meals for their children,” Doherty said. 

This is Sam’s life, without a home or the comfort and security that should be a right for every child in this state.

 Sam is just one of thousands of children who are living in emergency accommodation in Ireland currently.

Latest figures from the Department of Housing show that 10,338 people were in emergency accommodation in Ireland in August, including 6,490 adults and 3,848 children.

“This is Sam’s life, without a home or the comfort or security that should be a right for every child in this State,” Doherty said. 

This is the life of nearly 4,000 children who, like Sam, have been condemned to this type of nightmare. There is only one place our children should be on a Tuesday night, namely, safely tucked up in their beds in homes with their families.

Doherty added that “children are having their childhoods stolen from them right before our eyes”.

“It is a national shame. How can we, as a nation, accept this? How can the government stand over this?” he said. 

Responding to Doherty, Coveney said he “does not accept it”, adding that “no five-year-old child should be eating his or her dinner from a piece of cardboard on the street”. 

“We live in a country that does not accept this and that is why it is being raised in the House today, as it should be,” Coveney said. 

The Tánaiste insisted that the government is “making progress” in regard to homelessness. 

“For example, in 2018 more than 5,000 adults exited homelessness into homes, which is an increase of 8% on the previous year.  In the first half of this year, 2,825 adults exited homelessness into homes, which is a 21% increase on the previous year,” Coveney said. 

However, he added: “We need to ensure that Sam and little boys like him have security, safety and predictability in terms of their parents having a safe tenancy or a home of their own in which to look after their families. This is what we are working towards.

“It makes me angry that the supports being put in place are not succeeding in ensuring that little boys like Sam do not find themselves in the position Sam was in a few nights ago.”

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    Mute John Johnes
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    Apr 13th 2022, 12:19 PM

    My god do these people live in the same reality?

    Id love to see her singing the same song about climate nonsense if she would be on 30k a year needing to provide for her family renting out a house for 1.9k

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    Mute conriel
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    Apr 13th 2022, 1:44 PM

    @John Johnes: Well said If these people had to endure the pain they are enforcing on people the situation would be very different, This Government does not give a flying F*** IF a loaf of bread is 20 euro, they have made sure it wont effect them or their family or close friends. We’re is a downward spiral again and those with the so called experience are making life worse by the day, they simple do not have the intelligence and knowledge to run a country, God help us.

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    Mute Joe_X
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    Apr 13th 2022, 7:11 PM

    @both of ye.. ever think she is just reporting on the subject she is being paid for? It is like how ye give out about NPHET, but they were reporting on the subject they were being paid for, and government made the decisions.

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    Mute Darren Mc Mahon
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    Apr 13th 2022, 12:20 PM

    “Better balance” down the road perhaps but right now it’s a real struggle for those living in the real world.

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    Mute Michael McGrath
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    Apr 13th 2022, 2:05 PM

    The whole thing is a load of sheight anyway net zero. Net zero means we may still have the same carbon output but we have offset it by having more electric cars and windmills. In other words industrial carbon can remain the same but the plebs have to drive mad expensive electric cars, cycle or walk to work and retrofit their homes mostly at their own expense. Surely even the most ardent climate activist must see through the fact that all the measures are aimed at the small sinner rather than the large industrial abuser

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    Mute Dr. Emmett Lathrop Brown
    Favourite Dr. Emmett Lathrop Brown
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    Apr 13th 2022, 12:59 PM

    Agree with the goals, but for now, more RealLife™ advices would be good.

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