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Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
The Pat Kenny Show. With Timber Living Log Cabins. Saturday and Sunday from 10am on Newstalk. Conversation that counts.
Housing, homelessness and addiction have become some of the most pressing social issues facing communities across the country. And here in Wicklow, recent reports have highlighted the struggles of families living in emergency accommodation, the growing demand for social housing, and concerns about the supports available for people experiencing homelessness, addiction and social inclusion.
At the same time, organisations like TIGLIN have been developing new approaches to recovery, housing and community support, including calls for expanded mobile healthcare services and new housing initiatives in the county of Wicklow.
I'm delighted to be joined now by Senator Aubrey McCarthy, co-founder of Tiglin and a long-time advocate for people experiencing homelessness, addiction and disadvantage. Aubrey, good morning and welcome. Good morning, Pat. Thanks for having me.
Chapter 2: What pressing social issues are discussed in relation to Wicklow?
You might remind us of how you and Tiglin became synonymous.
So I set up Tiglin along with a number of people back 20 years ago, but I'd seen addiction in my own family growing up. And so I always said, if I get out of this alive, I'm going to try and make a difference if we can. So a number of us got together. We bought a bus, converted to a restaurant. I was the bus driver. I got a bus license and we used to pull up on the Cleary's clock.
Now, probably you used to meet for dates under the Cleary's clock. But we used to use it as a hub. And we met the most amazing people. And we realized there's people that are marginalized, people that are homeless, people that are in addiction. And the state services don't seem to be working. So over time, we started to plug that gap. And now we've eight centers, Wicklow, Kildare, Dublin.
So after 20 years, it's an overnight success.
So Tickling is a movement rather than simply a place.
Do you know, as we went along, it grew organically, and you realise the people that are homeless, they need, some people have mental health addiction support, so you need them. So we bought the National Mountaineering Centre in 2008. We got a mortgage from AIB for 110%. Do you remember those wonderful days before the tide went out?
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Chapter 3: How has Tiglin evolved in its approach to homelessness and addiction?
But that allowed us to buy the place and help people. But then you realise the people that are in rehab, they can't go back to the very place they got sick in the first place, whether that's Drogheda, Kildare or Coolock. And so what we did is we provided housing. But then you realize the people that then have the housing, they don't have a CV.
So if I go to Pat looking for a job and I say, listen, I've been in rehab for the last six to nine months, you're not high on the agenda for getting hired. So we set up an education program with SETU. And so in the last three years, we've had 314 people hired. through SETU, doing up to master's level. So then all of that works together in a holistic way.
We've set up social enterprises to get people back to work, housing, family support. And when all of those come together, you have a program that works.
Now, the housing crisis is getting worse. I mean, the homeless numbers seem to go up year on year. We don't seem to be making much progress.
Chapter 4: What innovative solutions are being proposed for housing challenges?
So as the problem gets bigger, the provision of wraparound services for people becomes almost an impossible mountain to climb.
Well, we're here in Avondale, which is an absolutely beautiful place. But Wicklow was the first council that believed in what we were doing. So we started to work in Greystones and we set up a transitional housing project there. There's 34 units of housing overlooking the sea. And Wicklow County Council bought in. So we had a particular cohort of people living there.
And now we won the Irish Council of Social Housing Awards. We won the Best Social Enterprise Award. So for your listeners, there's a place called Rise at the Cove. It's a cafe right on the beach. That's our social enterprise.
Chapter 5: How does Senator Aubrey McCarthy's personal experience shape his advocacy?
People don't go there to support a charity. They go there because it's the best bloody coffee you were going to get. And also we have a bakery there, we have a sauna. And again, all of that brings the community in to meet people who were marginalised before. They become part of the community and now we're as good as everybody else.
Now people listening will say, that's fantastic for the people who are marginalised to have all of this. Here am I, myself and my partner are working all the hours that God sends. We can't afford anything like that.
What do you say to that? I say, listen to the news. Eurostat on your headlines was saying that Ireland is the most expensive place for housing in Europe. You look at the emergency accommodation figures, over 17,500, 5,600 of those are children. So there's people that are marginalised. But can I tell you, we launched a homeless report this week. I'm on the Oireachtas Committee on Housing.
The homeless report showed that the demographics for homelessness have radically changed. So I'm involved. I run a lighthouse project. It's called the Lighthouse on Pear Street. We feed 500 people a day. But you know what's happened, Pat?
People are coming in that actually have a job and they have a tent in Sandy Mount or Ring's End and they work five days a week and then they go home to rural Ireland. The reason they're living in a tent is because they cannot afford accommodation in Dublin. Last week...
I, well, it's two weeks ago now, but I had a family in who, with two kids and parents, they ran behind in their rent and social housing. They had arrears of 14,000, which, you know, can't be allowed either. So they were evicted. They're now in a family hub on Gardiner Street, which is costing the state a multiple of the 14,000.
And the kid who wants to be a basketball player is getting a bus from Gardiner Street every day to train in Tala, where he lived. You know, so there's no joint up thinking. We need to look at ways of solving the crisis.
But if you take that particular problem, I mean, you gave that as an example. So what's the fix for that particular problem?
The fix for that is prevention. You don't allow the family to become homeless in the first place. Because I know it makes sense, they have arrears. So one department is saying we can't tolerate that. But then the other department of government is funding Gardiner Street, which is going to cost a multiple of the £14,000. So all I'm saying is you need joint up thinking. This is a crisis.
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Chapter 6: What are the current statistics on homelessness in Ireland?
If you could inject some of that into the body politic, we might get some movement. Well, let's keep trying. Aubrey McCarthy, thank you. Senator Aubrey McCarthy, thank you very much for joining us here in our temporary studio at Avondale House in County Wicklow. Aubrey, thank you.
Thank you.