Unite Regional Secretary blasts NAMA receivers for ‘No Room at the Inn’ attitude
Forcing homeless back onto streets in the heart of winter will result in more deaths amidst government inaction
December 20th: Speaking ahead of the court case [tomorrow, Wednesday December 21st] where NAMA’s receivers are to seek to evict homeless people from Apollo House, Jimmy Kelly, Ireland Secretary of Unite said:
“One hundred years after the heroic acts that established our state and heralded the hope of an Ireland that would cherish all the children equally, we have the appalling vista of NAMA receivers forcing homeless onto the streets in the days before Christmas. Or given the season: no room at the inn.
“This is the first time since the Great Famine that entire families are now homeless on our streets. In a fashion reminiscent of the absentee landlords of that time, the NAMA receivers are seeking to force homeless people back onto the streets to face cruel winter conditions; from an empty building bought and paid for by the Irish people. There can be no justification for such heartless inhumanity.
“The numbers of homeless on our streets have surged due to the failure of successive governments to build enough social housing but our political leaders continue to stand idly-by and wash their hands of this callous act.
“Unite is proud to stand alongside those principled activists, including many from our union, who have banded together to provide shelter and relief for the homeless of Dublin. Our members have volunteered their labour to provide rudimentary services and basic amenities in the building.
“This shining act of compassion has been lauded across the world. The Irish public also strongly support this initiative and the Home Sweet Home campaign has raised tens of thousands in a matter of days through online fund-raising. Even members of An Garda Síochána have commended those involved for their efforts. It seems the only ones who begrudge shelter to the homeless are those paid to manage the state’s NAMA property portfolio.
“Over these winter months, what better return on these state-owned properties could we expect than to provide shelter to the hundreds of homeless on the streets of Dublin; to avoid unnecessary suffering and possibly save lives. Unite will always stand with the homeless against corporate greed”, Mr Kelly concluded.
Unite the Union, Ireland Region 
well said
Very Said Jimmy what a way it would be to end the anniversary of 1916 Surely we have better than that . And next up must equal pay for equal work God Bless You Jimmy Kelly
NAMA have shown just how cold they are,some of these homless families may have already lost their homes to corrupt banks,maybe even victims of the tracking mortgage scam by the banks that repossessed dumped them on the streets. NAMA see a asset that with the right portfolio could make one of their rich friends even more wealthy,for as we have seen NAMA can do what no 2 year old can do, NAMA can sell a portfolio worth billions for a few million, Have you ever tried to get a two year old to swop €10 for a euro!!a 2 year old has a better understanding of the real value of money!!Good luck to the many people involved and to all Have yourselves a warm peaceful and nice Christmas!!!
another gang that works in secret just like judges solicitors gardai the cabal mob .. not right in a democracy ..they have be made accountible …
It’s time the Irish people told the Irish Goverment what they should be doing not asking yhem. We elected them and we can un elect them.
An old saying “”The fat pig in the sty doesn’t worry about the hungry one passing by //Shame on the government to allow this to be happening in2017 look after our own people before yee commit millions to other countries which their starving problems are also caused by their governments