Leading homeless organisations have expressed grave concern about the treatment of homeless asylum seekers and called for greater co-ordination between Government departments so that every human in Ireland is guaranteed decent shelter.

Our organisations are at the forefront of tackling homelessness and we have a shared understanding that every human being we work with must be treated with dignity and respect and, at the very minimum, offer decent shelter. This basic right does not depend upon where you were born or what legal process you are involved in it comes from the fact that we are all human beings. If we accept that people who have come to Ireland to seek protection can be left to sleep on the street, we erode our values and lower our standards for every resident and citizen of the country.

Since January of this year, early 3,000 people seeking international protection have not been offered temporary accommodation, despite the legal obligation to do so. Many of them have been forced to sleep rough, a situation made even more unsafe with the rise of various protests and social tensions throughout the year. This failure which has been reinforced by a High Court judgment, delivered in August, on the rights of international protection applicants to have their basic needs, including accommodation, met by the State. Several months ago, the Dublin Homeless Network, supported by other national charities, sought clarification from the Government —particularly from the Ministers for Housing and Children— of the exact provisions to be put into place over the winter period for those found sleeping rough seeking international protection.

To date, Irish policy in relation to homelessness has been heavily shaped by the objective that no one should have to sleep rough. This has been the objective of Government strategies under several administrations and the Dáil has been frequently reassured that a bed has been offered to anyone who needed it. This public policy has been strongly supported by public opinion and there has been a strong public aversion to seeing fellow human beings forced to sleep rough. This has resulted, over several decades, in levels of rough sleeping which, while regrettable and avoidable, are lower than most comparable cities. Of late, this situation has been suddenly reversed and the large number of visibly destitute people sleeping with or without tents right across the city is entirely unprecedented.

While we are acutely aware of the pressures on the system, there can be no acceptance of the failure to provide shelter for any person regardless of nationality, gender or status. It seems unlikely that a new Government will be in place until the New Year, so it is essential that the out-going Government take immediate collective action to ensure that shelter is provided to all those who need it over the Christmas, New Year and the winter storms.

It is very clear that IPAS alone is unable to deal with the scale of the situation and a co-ordinate Government response is essential. In the longer term, the incoming Government should immediately establish a cross departmental task group including the Department of Housing, Local Authorities, the HSE and the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (DEDIY) with the remit of, not only assuring long-term solutions to these issues, but ensuring that shelter is provided to everyone who needs it, including those in International Protection.

The Homeless sector is ready and willing to engage practically on supporting the State and believe that all newly elected politicians should support an all of government approach to

address this crisis situation. We cannot and should not normalise the practice of putting people outside to sleep into cold, wet, degrading conditions for any reason. The homeless sector is ready and willing to engage practically on supporting the State, to ensure we do better as a country.

The signatories to the above are united in the belief that that access to shelter is a human right for all.