The Dublin Region Homeless Executive says emergency accommodation will be provided for families left homeless after the Metro Hotel and apartment fire, who presented to its service today.
It says it's due to the extenuating and difficult circumstances they've found themselves in, pending an assessment of their homeless applications.
They've been put up free of charge since the blaze broke out in Ballymun in Dublin last month.
Its after a number of families presented at Dublin City Council’s homeless offices this afternoon warning they had been left with 'nowhere to go.'
The hotel has been providing financial support for around 50 people left homeless by the Ballymun blaze for the past two weeks – however that support is due to end tomorrow.
Their tenancies are also due to be ended.
First look inside the #metrohotel in #Dublin since a major fire two weeks ago.Residents say they face becoming homeless as a result pic.twitter.com/CVLIz6pGRA
— Paul Quinn (@pdquinn7) April 4, 2018
Tarfa from Saudi Arabia said she has been living in the building for the last seven years. She said she has no idea what will happen next:
“I appreciate that they sent us to the hotel to stay for a couple of nights,” she said.
“But now we don’t have a place to go; I don’t have a place to stay – seriously, I don’t have enough money to offer for a place for myself and my son.
“So, what should I do?”
She said she lost everything she owned in the fire.
“All of what I saved over seven years is totally burned now,” she said.
“Nothing left, all my memories gone – even things belonging to my child; his certificates, his medals are burned now.”
She said her son is now afraid to return to the area to go to school due to the shock.
Inside the Metro Hotel. Image: Tarfa, Metro Apartments resident
This evening a DRHE spokesperson said all of those who came to the office today were offered accommodation “due to the extenuating and difficult circumstances that these families have found themselves in.”
She said they will be provided with the accommodation “pending assessment of their homeless applications.”
Earlier, another of those affected, Adeel Bashir, said he and his family have no idea where they will go.
He said his only hope is that his wife and two kids do not end up on the streets.
Another of those affected, Adeel Bashir, says he and his family have no idea where they will move to tomorrow:
He said his only hope is that his wife and two kids do not end up on the streets.
"You used to read on the news that there are a lot of homeless people in Dublin and they were saying that they put them up in a hotel.
"I was thinking maybe it should be OK, at least they have a roof over their head.
"But now I think it is very, very hard.
"Since we lived in a hotel for two weeks, it is so hard to survive in a hotel."
Inside the Metro Hotel. Image: Tarfa, Metro Apartments resident
Tarfa said she has had had great support from the Ballymun community and Supervalu donations – however her family has had no official support from the authorities until today.
A number of the families claim they have tried to organise meetings with TDs, Dublin City Council and the Department of Housing.
Reporting from Paul Quinn ...
