@Barry Barrison: no i can’t?? Could be a multiple of reasons

@Mark Johnson: The circumstances is the poor man was homeless and is not the first nor will he be the last May he rest in peace

@Dreyfus: RIP.. that really says it all.

@ricky bobby: Occam’s razor !

@Gerry Campbell: when you hear hoofs, think horses not zebras.

@Dreyfus: Surely this is a crime on the government’s side, they are accessories to murder essentially… they have a duty of care to citizens which they ignore regularly, is there no legal avenue that would force their hand to build social housing.

@Mark Johnson: keep the subterfuge and misinformation going the, so I see you’ll be voting Fine Gael in next election.

@Frank Lee: You’re ignoring the fact that some people on the streets just don’t want to be helped.

@Dreyfus: indeed. For what died the sons of Roisin.

@Dreyfus: comment of the year

@Dreyfus: long time since i heard such utter rubbish

@frank murphy: Don’t be ridiculous Dane, you hear far worse rubbish every day inside your head. And you read it here, not heard it, you seem a bit confused! Maybe it is the rush to get the words out and move on to your next profile to spout more rubbish!!

@ricky bobby: ironically enough, I think it’s you who is thinking zebras, deer, antelope, ibex etc. in this case..

@Kal Ipers: people don’t go to hostel because they take drugs IN the hostel

@Kal Ipers: dont baffle the shinnerbots with facts they dont like that

@Pl O’neill: guess we are keeping the recovery going as the Mayo Moron once said…nothing to see here, move along

@Pat Bateman: “playing the blame game changes nothing”

The blame game is the only response from some people on here.

@Pat Bateman: Are you for real this is a human person been bandied about wheather he refused help or not is neather here or there.as some of these homeless places are not safe as reported, If this government had any back bone and stopped wasting money on advisers , come down off their high horseif they need advisers then they dont know the job ,and need to take a walk around and meet the people,they cant decide what is going on in the bar in the dail,have the bar bills been paid up to date yet an sure its only taxpayers money,They give themselves one hundred euros of a rise but cant sort or want to sort out the housing situation.The only place you see a TD is eather in the evening news but never in the area where they were elected,how in gods name can they understand what is going on on the ground if they never bother to talk to the people who voted for them

@Pat Bateman: I agree with you Pat, it will never be down to zero. It never was. There will always be those who just don’t fit in to society. Tramps, i think they’re commonly know as.
It’s not a “blame game” that people engage in when criticising the government and their policies. It’s reality. Homelessness is an industry today. Many are making a very good living out of the homeless problem.
When the country was in a worse off state years ago, before the Celtic Tiger years and beyond that, we never seen or heard of homeless people dying on the streets. We never seen homelessness as the problem it is today.

@Dave Doyle: I might be ignorant to the issue, but is there not an emergency bed available for every rough sleeper who wants one? Surely that basic need can be met fairly easily

@Pat Bateman: We are told there Pat. If we listen to those who depend on them for shelter, they tell us they are unsuitable and unsafe for many reasons. Many do not find them an option. For many the streets are safer.

@Dave Doyle: But is that due to the people that are in the shelters? If so, surely some sort ’cause trouble and you’re out’ type of policy should be in place. Seperate facilities for addicts and those that are clean maybe

@Dave Doyle: *there are*

@Pat Bateman: Actally James gave a very good description of what we perceive our so called politicians to be doing on a daily basis, their indifference to the homeless and less well off is really astounding, and then they, who live like kings from the tax payers hard earned money ignore the people who pay their salaries, and reward themselves with a raise.

@Pat Bateman: no, there isn’t an emergency bed available for every rough sleeper on any given night. And that is beside the fact that sleeping on the street can often be safer than sleeping in a room with 7 or 9 others, some of whom are more than willing and capable of robbing you of the few important possessions you might have that keep you alive on cold days and nights (ie. Your sleeping bag, your coat or other warm jumper, any little bit of money you might have.). This is why some rough sleepers won’t go into homeless hostels. They simply feel safer outside…
(past personal experience)

@Lilly Passet-De Nais: Please stop referring to homeless people as rough sleepers, that terminology was started my Joan Burton and adopted by all Irish media. People living on the streets are homeless, referring to them as rough sleepers suggests they have a choice.

@Tom&Gerry: they use the term rough sleepers to differentiate between those included in our ‘homeless’ figure who are actually living in temporary accommodation such as hotels, and those who are actually sleeping on the street

@Dave Doyle: zzzzzz

@Tom&Gerry: I can very well use the term “rough sleeper”. I used to be a rough sleeper, and I also had experience couch hopping, which is much closer to homelessness. Trust me! There is a big difference between sleeping out in the cold, wet and being able to sleep on a friend or family members sofa or spare bed…

@Anne Marie Devlin: people do scam the system. I seperate ‘homeless’ and ‘rough sleepers’ and my sympathy only goes to the latter

@Pat Bateman: The so called “rough sleepers” are homeless. They’ve no choice but to “sleep rough”. Families living in hotels or in “hubs” or in their cars, or in tents, are homeless. They’re all tarnished as “scammers”. Some will be, of that there’s no doubt. But it doesn’t apply to all or even the majority.
There’s always scams going on. Mortgage fraud is a scam. Politicians scam their expenses, and bar bills. NAMA “fixer fees” are a scam. Vulture funds registering as charities is a scam. Eviction courts have seen many scams on behalf of the banks and legal profession. The bank collapse was a result of a huge scam.
But the only scams the government are interested in are those that cause the public to question government policy.

@Pat Bateman: Perhaps the people that Leo employed to make him look and sound better on the world stage might have a suggestion.

@Dave Doyle: Dave your posts are always excellent and say a lot about you, any chance you would think of going into politics, you make more sense than any politician i have listened to. The country needs people like that are genuinely interested in the welfare of people.

@Tom&Gerry: Thanks for that. I call it as i see it. I’m not living in Ireland anymore, i’m an ex-pat. So politics are out.
My family live in Ireland so i still have the interest in what’s going on there.

@Tom&Gerry: another constructive comment. You sound bitter that the leader of a first world country would employ an advisor. Common practice

@Dave Doyle: Surely the bank collapse, mortgage scams and vulture funds have all caused people to question government policy? A simple solution to the issue of people playing the housing system is to make them work for it. If you’re in full health, unemployed and you’re given a house, or being put up in a hotel while waiting on a house, you should be made work for it. Simple things like the upkeep of local area etc cause the incentive for people to try provide for themselves isn’t there

@Dave Doyle: When politicians or bankers “are caught” pulling a stroke, it’s a scandal. When any of the rest of us don’t behave is an ethical manner, IT’S A SCAM! Class warfare, divide and conquer manipulation of the plebs is as prevalent today as it’s always been and that probably won’t change in my lifetime given the calibre of politician we have to put up with in this country.

@Pat Bateman: He doesn’t employ an advisor. He employs many, as do all ministers it seems. On top of his advisors Leo set up the Strategic Communications Unit. Estimated cost is 5 million euro per year to run it. It is a department of spin, nothing else.
The function of advisors is to help formulate policy in a manner that makes it acceptable to the general public.

@Dave Doyle: Thats a pity, all our bright smart lads like yourself gone. Good luck with your new life, peace and happiness to you and yours.

@Mark Murphy: do something about it yourself if you care so much

@Tom&Gerry: Love life here, thank you again. Peace and happiness to you and yours!

@Dave Doyle:
Dont forget the layers of “regulators” that save the Minister from having to make a decision and are the fall guy when it all goes wrong like the “HSE”.

@R1977: But is that frame of mind that they’re in not as a result of their addiction? Anyone who works with addicts everyday wouldn’t call someone a junkie, so either you’re lying or you’re not fit for your job

@Pat Bateman: I never said I “work with addicts” re-read my reply ( that’s if the journal haven’t deleted it because they like censorship ) There are addicts that are desperate to get clean and do everything within their power to beat it, they have my support and sympathy but unfortunately the reality that I see is that many, many addicts have no interest, no desire and no intention to get clean! I see what they are capable of every day! You can call me whatever you want, you seem keen on passing judgement on a lot of people commenting here but that is what I see and experience!

@Rosemarie F Martin: no and no!

@R1977: I don’t pass judgement on them, I just challenge their views, that’s all. And do you have first hand experience of dealing with addicts that you know some don’t want to get clean? Or is this just another assumption of yours?

@Pat Bateman: daily experience ( or at least every day I’m in work )and as already explained in a previous comment, deleted by the journal, a relative was seriously assaulted by a “homeless, victim of society” for their phone. You have your reality, I have mine.

@Rosemarie F Martin: How dare I say??? Have I offended you?

@R1977: I feel sorry for the homeless person who had to resort to that for whatever reason, they have nothing but my sympathy. And these homeless people that you deal with on a daily basis have told you that they don’t want to get clean?

@Pat Bateman: come on Pat, you seem intelligent and educated but can you read my posts properly? If your going to “challenge” people’s opinions can you read their posts slower? I come across addicts in work, I never said I work with homeless, although it’s fair to say some of them could be homeless. I have conversations with them, I know their circumstances, where they came from, their family life…it’s not rocket science!

@Pat Bateman: also in your above post you state that the homeless person who viciously assaulted my relative has your sympathy? That’s very noble of you Pat but where is the sympathy for my family, for my relative?? You will probably come back and say they do have your sympathy too but your initial response is what is wrong with today’s society, God love them, sure aren’t they from a marginalized back ground, sure it’s not their fault, society is to blame, it FG/FF fault………victims fall by the wayside in the clamor by the do gooder, pc brigade to be seen and heard!!

@R1977: : I read the post slowly, still failed to see how it was relevant. Its not rocket science but it is a complex social issue which you’ve simplified to a ‘he’s only a junkie’. Anyone who’s a victim of an unprovoked assault is generally sympathised with so I assumed it would go without saying, but most people wouldn’t sympathise with the attacker in this case who had to resort to something like that due to whatever issues are going on in their own life, so I’m glad you picked up on it. It’d also take a closer look to home if you’re listing out what’s wrong with today’s society. The article is about a homeless man dying and your initial comment was ‘he’s probably a junkie with a criminal record longer than my arm’. What a disgusting thing to say.

@Pat Bateman: If you want to simplify it, he probably is! It’s more likely that he is then he isn’t!

@Pat Bateman: luckily for all the criminals, murderers, rapists, gangsters and burglars in this country they have you and your sympathy! Well done Pat…where would this country be without you???

@R1977: So it’s fine to disregard the death of someone if they have addiction issues in your eyes? Well I didn’t say I sympathise with them, seems to me like you’ve realised your wrong and want to twist what I’ve said to redeem yourself. Let me know if you want another lesson buddy.

@Pat Bateman: sorry, is this a competition?? I didn’t know! I also didn’t realise you were giving out lessons? How silly of me…me so dumb!! Anyway…like I said earlier, you have your reality I have mine!! I’m comfortable with my views and also comfortable with others that differ from mine!

@R1977: Have you ever considered the fact that many of those homeless who live on the streets never touched drugs or abused alcohol before they ended up on the streets, whatever that reason is.
Drugs and alcohol helps to alleviate the pain and misery of the despair and hopelessness the homeless feel.
Who are you to judge them?

@Dave Doyle: did someone from Fg run off with your missus or what LOL

@R1977: Sad to see someone with your opinions dealing with addicts you must be really helpful to someone who might want to reform……..

@Kerry Blake: I am very helpful to anyone that wants to reform! It’s the ones that don’t, it’s the ones that choose to continue along the path of criminality etc that I have an issue with! All of that is quite clear from what I’ve said so I am unsure what your point is?

@GizmoIrl: Where are these plenty of places which are not near schools, homes or businesses? it’s an unworkable concept,

@Rosemarie F Martin: thanks Rosemarie, I didn’t know that. That’s great to hear. Just because a person has an addiction they shouldn’t be forced to sleep on the street.

Of course it’s going to be more work but it’s the most humane. No none of us want anti-social behaviour at our door but that can take many a guise not just homeless people.

@Fergus Sheahan: you’re unworkable. You don’t get a seat at the table if you are not intelligent enough to be part of the solution instead of being the problem. So back off!

@GizmoIrl: I’m intelligent to know that your concept is a waste of breath because it won’t work so it’s hardly a solution. How am I part of the problem?