Eileen Gleeson of the Dublin Region Homeless Executive has come under fire for comments she made about volunteers giving food to the homeless being unhelpful, as well as the "bad behaviour" of homeless people.
Eileen joined us to clarify her remarks: "Perhaps I didn't use the correct language, but the point I was trying to make is that we need to be providing services that people use and that can be linked into longer-term services with a view to getting them out of homelessness."
"I was trying to explain that the individuals who are homeless have sometimes got complex issues that need to be dealt with, and it can't be solved by merely giving them soup and a sandwich."
Peter McVerry of the Peter McVerry Trust accepts that Eileen misspoke but was well-intentioned. He also added that the problem of homelessness is a failure of government policy and has "very little to do with the bad behaviour of homeless people."
However, he did disagree that volunteers providing food are not helping.
"I think the people who are providing the soup and sandwiches are doing a great job, because it's about friendship. Most homeless people feel rejected, unwanted, vilified and shunned. If someone sits down with them and shows them they care, that is worth its weight in gold to homeless people."
