World of Politics with Harry McGee

I remember vividly the moment when we realised that the crisis facing Ireland was no longer an economic one but one of homelessness and lack of housing.

It was after a homeless man was found dead after a cold night at the start of December 2014, during the morning rush-hour on a doorstep in Molesworth Street no more than 30 metres away from Leinster House.

For a few hours, the dead man possessed nothing, not even a name. Later his identity was revealed as Jonathan Corry, a 43-year-old homeless man, originally from Carlow.

The news prompted a widespread reaction of sympathy and soul-searching from politicians of all hues.

The reasons were obvious. It was close to Christmas. It happened so close to the seat of power in Irish society. It threw a sharp light on the Government’s strategy on homelessness and the shakiness of its promise to end street homelessness by 2016, the centenary of the Easter Rising.

At the time, more than 160 people were sleeping rough on the streets of the capital on a nightly basis, according to the latest official figures compiled last month. That figure has never been substantially reduced.

And yet Jonathan Corry’s death did prompt action from the Government. Within a week, then Minister for the Environment Alan Kelly published a €25 million plan to tackle homelessness.

The 20-point plan promised to provide additional emergency beds by the end of the year; set up a night cafe for homeless people; and provide tree transport to available hostels.

Other major points of the plan included a commitment to purchase a hotel under the control of the National Assets Management Agency (NAMA) and use it to provide accommodation and a single assessment centre for homeless families.

Mr Kelly also directed the four Dublin housing authorities to allocate 50 per cent of all housing allocations to homeless households and other vulnerable groups for the following six months. That would provide homes for approximately 500 people, said the Minister. Over 1,000 vacant properties would also be examined as temporary housing.

On the face of it, the plan was a good one and the intention behind it was honourable. But it was one of many, many plans over the years that foundered on the hidden rocks that were to be found midway between the point of conception and the point of implementation.

Pictured: Targets missed…Minister for Housing James Browne.