Simon Harris linked homeless people to crime in an attempt to overturn permission for a child and adult shelter in his constituency. Though his attempt was unsuccessful he did contribute to a delay in delivering the facility.
Wicklow Town Council had granted permission for the proposed shelter when Harris, along with just two other parties, appealed the decision to An Bord Pleanála (ABP) – ultimately setting the shelter back seven months.
The Fine Gael taoiseach in waiting said the shelter would be bad for tourism, questioned what tourists would think upon seeing it, warned about its impact on crime levels in the area and expressed concerns for Wicklow’s Tidy Towns rating.
‘As tourists emerge from their coaches and see what awaits them’
In August 2012 Wicklow County Council sought permission to convert a bed and breakfast at Kilmantin Hill, Wicklow Town to temporary accommodation to be run by the Simon Community for homeless people.
Local TD Simon Harris was among those who objected to the development, but the now defunct Wicklow Town Council granted it permission in October 2012.
Harris, along with two other parties, subsequently appealed the town council’s decision to An Bord Pleanála in November.
Harris said the shelter would be bad for tourism, questioned what tourists would think upon seeing it, warned about its impact on crime levels in the area and expressed concerns for Wicklow’s Tidy Towns rating.
Harris sent newspaper clippings to ABP – including a report of a homeless man shot in Belfast – and warned planners about sheltered accommodation.
“There is an intimidatory element attached to patrons using premises such as these,” he said.
Harris told planners he was enclosing “media reports from the local newspaper recording instances of anti-social behaviour at the previously used premises”.
Among the reports was the story of the shooting of a homeless man who had been living in Simon Community accommodation on the Falls Road in Belfast.
Another article reported the 2005 case of a young homeless man who was given the probation act by the local district court judge after being found drunk outside the proposed Wicklow town shelter, then a hostel.
Most of the other court reports submitted by Harris in his appeal involved cases of assault committed by people using homeless accommodation services.
Harris also suggested the homeless shelter would have a detrimental effect on Wicklow’s Tidy Towns rankings.
Permitting the development would be “a serious insult to the people involved in trying to keep our town neat and litter free” he said.
He also highlighted what he saw as a “severe negative impact… on the Wicklow Gaol as tourists emerge from their coaches and see what awaits them (outside the shelter)”.
ABP’s board rejected Harris’s submissions and upheld the decision to grant permission for the homeless accommodation.
“The proposed development would not seriously injure the amenities of the area or of property in the vicinity,” ruled the board in June 2013.
The Kilmantin Hill facility, which still operates, was officially opened in September 2014 by president Michael D Higgins who told attendees at the event that homelessness was a “profound violation of human rights”.
Harris declined to comment.
