10.01.2024
Archbishop of Dublin Appeals for Support of those Without Food and Shelter Amid Spate of Fires
Archbishop Michael Jackson has issued a statement following reports today of a fire in Dublin at the weekend at a premises rumoured to have been identified for accommodation of people seeking asylum.
“Week by week and with increasing alarm we are being told that properties associated with the provision of shelter for asylum seekers are fast becoming acceptable targets for burning and destruction.“In the final hours of 2023, property in Thorncastle Street, Ringsend, Dublin, which was actually being prepared for use by homeless families who are in need of accommodation and security, was set alight and destroyed.
“Now we learn that Gardai are investigating a fire at a property in Sandyford at the weekend which some individuals had claimed in online groups was to be used to house asylum seekers.
“Nothing wholesome is achieved by such activity. It contributes nothing to our self–understanding as a society of kindness and respect. Everyone loses out, most of all the vulnerable and those who are struggling.“We have just celebrated Christmas when we mark as a national community the coming of the Child of Bethlehem in a state of homelessness and in an arena of oppression. We are into a new year which always holds unexpected opportunities for good. My appeal is that we rally round those without food and shelter, whatever their place of origin, in these dark days of winter.”