The entrance to a building at Dublin’s Digital Hub being used as emergency accommodation for homeless people is under repair after a large section of masonry fell from its facade into Thomas Street.
Passersby described how a piece of the stone facade “around the length of a garden bench” fell into the street on Thursday afternoon. The stone section, about 1 ft high and 9 ft long, had been directly over the front door of the building.
The entrance is to the Brú Aimsir emergency hostel, which caters for up to 100 rough sleepers each night, with 80 beds for men and 20 for women.
No one hurt
A spokesman for Dublin city Council said no one was hurt when the section of masonry fell.
“ A part of concrete masonry on the top of the wall that is the boundary to the site wherein Brú Aimsir is located on Thomas Street, Dublin 8, did fall onto the street. No one was hurt or harmed by the incident.”
The use of the hostel was not affected he said, and it would continue to operate as repairs were undertaken.
“ The wall does form part of the controlled entrance route to Brú Aimsir, however, the condition of the Brú Aimsir building and its use is unaffected by this matter,” he said.
"Dublin City Council Homeless Facilities Management has inspected the part of the wall affected and a repair is currently under way [Friday]. This will not interrupt the provision of emergency accommodation in the Brú Aimsir service."
Cold Weather Initiative
The Brú Aimsir facility is part of the Dublin Region Homeless Executive’s annual Cold Weather Initiative, which aims to prevent fatalities or serious harm due to sleeping on the streets in very cold weather.
The facility, part of the Digital Hub campus in the Liberties area just off Thomas Street, was opened last November and is expected to be in use until April for this purpose.
An additional 271 beds were put in place for rough sleepers last winter following the death of Jonathan Corrie, a homeless man who died in a doorway near Leinster House on December 1st, 2014.
Of these beds, 251 are still in use. Charities which provide services to homeless people have said it is unlikely to be possible to discontinue the use of the “cold weather” beds this spring because of the ongoing problem of rough sleeping in the city.
