The Vicar of St Ann’s Church on Dublin’s Dawson Street has said the incoming government needs to “do better” for the homeless and those in poverty in light of the country’s “abundant wealth”.
Canon Paul Arbuthnot was speaking outside the historic church in the centre of the capital after the launch of the annual Black Santa appeal.
The primary focus of the fundraising effort are charities that support people in homelessness including the St Vincent de Paul, Simon, the Samaritans, Salvation Army, Protestant Aid, Alice Leahy Trust, Laura Lynn Foundation, Focus Ireland and the Solas Project.
Speaking to the Irish Independent, decked out in the traditional long black cape of the ‘Black Santa’, Rev Arbuthnot said: “Once again, here we are standing outside St Ann’s fundraising for those in our society who are less fortunate, especially the homeless. It was heart-breaking last week to see people queuing outside the Capuchin Day Centre for basic provisions.
“That this is happening at a time of Apple taxes and budget surpluses is really a shame on us as a society because the mark of a decent society is how we treat the most vulnerable.”
He appealed to any politicians who venture around the corner from the Dáil to do some Christmas shopping to support the appeal, and the choirs who will daily sing their hearts out, between now and Christmas Eve.
But he also had a message for them. “In this country of abundant wealth, the next government really must focus for the next four or five years on looking after those who have fallen by the wayside. We must do better for them because it can be done,” he said.
He continues to see people in tents outside his church doors in the mornings and said nothing had changed since last year’s appeal as far as the “urgency of the housing crisis and the homelessness crisis” was concerned.
He was also meeting many young people for whom the “goal of home ownership is a distant dream for them. We need to be able to do something to help that.”
The launch was attended by children from Kildare Place School in Dublin, who merrily sang popular Christmas carols, as well as Archbishop Michael Jackson and the Deputy Lord Mayor of Dublin, Cllr Donna Cooney.
“Great fundraising has been done for various charities over the years. That is what Christmas is all about – giving and making sure that everybody has enough at Christmas time,” Cllr Cooney said.
She admitted she was disappointed that homelessness in the city was still a major issue.
“We have been housing more people but the more we do, the more become homeless – so it feels like a never-ending tragedy.”
However, she stressed: “We do have a plan in place. There is hope. We are building homes – it should have been sooner but we are now getting there.”
This is the twenty-fourth year that the Black Santa Sit Out has taken place in Dublin. Last year, the appeal raised €55,000.