The Home Sweet Home initiative agree to leave Apollo House
A deal has been struck between Minister for Housing Simon Coveney and a team of delegates from the Home Sweet Home initiative, who have been occupying Apollo House since December last year.
The campaigners have agreed to vacate the building on the condition that appropriate accommodation be found for the 40 homeless residents currently living there.
As part of the deal, €4 million will also be spent on two new facilities for the homeless in Dublin.
A summary of the #homesweethome and #ApolloHouse announcements. Full statement on https://t.co/gwTPHo6qpw pic.twitter.com/3hqbLjQRAg
— HomeSweetHome (@HSHIreland) January 9, 2017
The Minister also pledged that there will be no families left in commercial housing, such as B&Bs or hotels, by July 2017.
Both Home Sweet Home and the Minister for Housing agreed that "Ireland is currently in the grips of a housing emergency," according to a statement released online by Home Sweet Home.
The initiative has pledged to be a permanent fixture in the fight to end homelessness, and will have regular monthly meetings with Dublin City Council to discuss issues around homelessness in the country's capitol.
#Apollohouse was a fantastic action by citizens and todays news is testament to that, the pride of Dublin, #HomeSweetHome #Beirbua
— Oisín Ó Cuilleanáin (@OCuilleanain) January 9, 2017
Apollo House and it's residents were served with a notice to have vacated the premises by January 11.
The Tara Street building is set for demolition in the new year, as it is part of a €50,000,000 plan of redevelopment for the area.
