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A new report from Focus Ireland and Trinity College has revealed that the vast majority of homelessness funding is still going to emergency accommodation, while investment in prevention remains low. So, is the Government's approach actually tackling the crisis—or just managing it? Joining me now to discuss the findings is Conor Culkin from Focus Ireland.
Calls to overhaul Ireland's bail system grow louder as repeat offenders are linked to over 40,000 crimes. Is stricter policy or improved rehabilitation the answer? Plus, with Irish prisons operating at 113% capacity, is building more cells the solution? Our panel of experts weighs in. And we are Live from Washington ahead of the Taoiseach's crucial White House visit. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wow, what a morning we had at Celtic Horizon Tours, kicking off The Big Busk. So much craic! There were celebrity guests in the form of Gift Grub's Michael D and The FOGS, live music from the amazing Kingfishr and of course, the one and only David Buckley, who donated 21,000 euro to The Big Busk for Focus Ireland! Subscribe to The Ian Dempsey Breakfast Show wherever you get your podcasts.
As part of The Big Busk for Focus Ireland, Matt is joined in studio by a special musical guest, rising star of Irish pop Moncrieff!He chats to Matt about his upcoming debut album, performs his latest single and is enlisted to help with the return of Karaoke Cooper.Catch the chat and both performances by pressing the 'Play' button on this page!
As part of The Big Busk for Focus Ireland, Today FM is looking for Ireland's best up and coming busker!Joe Sweeney is one of the musicians competing to be crowned Ireland's Next Big Busker. He joins The Last Word to talk about his busking journey. Catch the full chat by pressing the 'Play' button on this page!
Homeless figures in Ireland have reached an all-time high of 15,286, prompting urgent calls for action. Conor Culkin advocates for prioritizing social housing to protect vulnerable families
Matt talks to Zara, a Focus Ireland Ambassador about her experience accessing the services of the homelessness charity and how she was helped in securing the future of her family.To listen to the full conversation, press the 'play' button on this page.
Celtic Horizon Tours win the The Big Bid, pledging a massive 21,000 euro for Focus Ireland and it's all about Bond in the showbiz. Subscribe to The Ian Dempsey Breakfast Show wherever you get your podcasts.
The Big Bid for Focus Ireland is officially back for another year! The Ian Dempsey Breakfast Show is up for auction and Ian is willing to broadcast from anywhere in Ireland on the morning of The Big Busk . He will go to the highest bidder! Some of the Gift Grub crew joined Ian this morning to make bids and some had a bit of feedback. Hit play now to hear the full episode. (Remember, you can submit your own bid to bigbid@todayfm.com )
Pat Farrell, CEO of Irish Institutional Property and Mike Allen, Director of Advocacy at Focus Ireland, give their reactions to the possible change in government housing policy that has been signalled by the Taoiseach.
Mike Allen, Director of Advocacy for Focus Ireland, on behalf of the Irish Homeless Policy Group, discusses what's needed for the Programme for Government to address homelessness.
Bainisteoir Díseart an Daingin ag caint faoi Mhargadh na Nollag Dé Domhnaigh ar son na carthanachta Focus Ireland.
Joining Brendan to discuss the stories of the week were Louise Bayliss, Focus Ireland and founder of S.P.A.R.K; Alison O'Connor, broadcaster and columnist; Oisín Coghlan, Friends of the Earth Ireland; Cormac Lucey, economics columnist with the Sunday Times Ireland; and Pat Shortt remembers his D'Unbelievables co-star and friend Jon Kenny.
Louise Bayliss - Campaign Co-Ordinator, Focus Ireland and Kelly-Ann Byrne who experienced homelessness.
Mike Allen, Head of Advocacy at Focus Ireland speaks to us
Louise Bayliss, Founder of Single Parent organisation SPARK & Campaign Co-Ordinator of Focus Ireland, Síona Cahill, Account Director at DHR Communications, Mick Clifford, Special Correspondent with The Irish Examiner, Gerard Howlin, Public affairs advisor & former government advisor join Brendan to talk through the stories making the headlines.
Bobby was broadcasting from Greentech HQ in Enniscorthy for the 'Open for Business' roadshow this week. As a result, he wasn't able to attend the annual sleepout for Focus Ireland where hundreds of people all over the country sleep out in solidarity with Ireland's homeless community. Newstalk's John Crosbie was there and he joined Bobby to chat about how he got on.
Please join us on patreon.com/tortoiseshack In this Reboot Republic, Rory dissects Budget 2025 with Michael Taft, economist , and Susanne Rogers of Social Justice Ireland and they find more tokenism than transformation, We discuss how the Budget was actually regressive - those on higher incomes gained more - it failed to take transformative action on housing, health or child poverty. Michael points to a broad public retrofitting scheme as one measure that would have used the billions for transformation. Rory is also joined by Mike Allen of Focus Ireland who highlights how shockingly there was not one mention of homelessness in the Budget, and no increase in funding for preventing homelessness. We also discuss the socially divisive narrative spread by the Taoiseach and others that are trying to deflect attention away from Government policy failure and blame immigrants and others vulnerable for homelessness. We always enjoy your feedback, and please share the podcast around. Thank you for listening. (Editors note: Don't miss Michael Taft singing) Rory's Dublin Marathon for Dignity for Palestine:https://www.patreon.com/posts/112598735
Adrian Cummins, Restaurants Association of Ireland. Louise Bayliss, Focus Ireland. Dr Tom McDonnell, Nevin Economic Research Institute affiliated to ICTU. Catherine Cox, Family Carers Ireland. Pat Crotty Vintner's Federation. Donal Swan, National Women's Council. Elaine Dunne, Early Childcare Providers.
Please join us at patreon.com/tortoiseshack In this Reboot Republic, Rory talks with Louise Bayliss, Advocacy and Campaigns Coordinator with Focus Ireland. The latest homelessness figures show that we have the highest recorded homeless in Ireland, with the number of children homeless with their families at 4,401 children, an 87% increase since the Governments plan Housing For All in 2021. We discuss the traumatic impact of homelessness on children and families, and what are the solutions: including a re-instating of the ban on no fault evictions and allocating priority to families homeless in social housing. Homelessness is not evitable, and we must end it. A Home of Your Own Podcast:https://www.patreon.com/posts/111406218 Gazza Appeal:https://www.patreon.com/posts/108592125
Pat Dennigan, Chief Executive Officer, Focus Ireland, discusses a rise in the number of people seeking help from the homeless charity in 2023.
Today's panel includes Colm O'Gorman, Human Rights Campaigner and Irish Examiner Food Columnist, Killian Woods, Senior Business Reporter with The Business Post, Keire Murphy, European Migration Network, at the ESRI and Louise Bayliss, Focus Ireland and Founder of Single Parent organization SPARK.
Joining Áine to discuss what's making the Sunday headlines this week were; Iar Thaoiseach Bertie Ahern, Jennifer Bray, Political Reporter for the Irish Times, Gary Murphy Professor of Politics at DCU and Louise Bayliss, Founder of single parent organisation SPARK and Campaign Co-Ordinator for Focus Ireland.
On the move for Focus Ireland is taking place from Friday 14th – Sunday 16th June 2024. Participants can set up their own hike but there are also three official hikes that you can join. To tell us more about the charity event Anton was joined by Clare McKenna – Host of Newstalk's Alive & Kicking and Focus Ireland's “On The Move” Ambassador and also Al Leahy, Lived Experience Ambassador LEAP for Focus Ireland.
Today's panel includes Louise Bayliss, Founder of Single Parent organisation SPARK & Campaign Co-ordinator of Focus Ireland; Pat Leahy, Political Editor at the Irish Times; Brendan Kelly, Consultant Psychiatrist and Professor of Psychiatry at Trinity College Dublin & Brenda Power, Columnist with the Irish Daily Mail and Sunday Times and barrister.
Mary Jameson, North West Manager with Focus Ireland in Sligo tells us why she's not surprised that Sligo had the lowest number of properties to rent last month according to the 'Locked Out Market' report
Here it is, in all it's glory!We asked you to donate so Dave would release his very own tune 'Busking For Love,' written by Dave and recorded by Team Today FM.You stepped up, raising a whopping €30,000 for the Big Busk for Focus Ireland, to help in the fight to end homelessness.So now this tune is out in the universe, take it away Dave!
The show was live from Evergreen Healthfoods in Galway this morning and it was all about kicking off The Big Busk for Focus Ireland in style. Three of Gift Grub's most loved characters stopped by for a quick chat with Ian. Hit play now to hear the full episode.
We're all in for the Big Busk for Focus Ireland, are you?Donate now at TodayFM.com/Busk
Mother of 2 Sarah says it is scare that there are thousands of families just like hers who have been experiencing homelessness in recent months.We're all in for the Big Busk for Focus Ireland, to help fight homelessness in Ireland, are you?Find out more at TodayFM.com/Busk
"When the night comes and she's asleep I just ask What am I doing wrong?"Lisa's one year old daughter was born into homelessness and they're living in emergency accommodation. We're all in for the Big Busk for Focus Ireland to help end homelessness in Ireland, are you?Get involved at TodayFM.com/Busk
William knows what it can feel like to not know where his next meal is coming from.This year we're going all in for the Big Busk for Focus Ireland, are you?Find out more at TodayFM.com/Busk
Chloe works in the Focus Ireland coffee shop with those experiencing homelessness. We're all in for the Big Busk for Focus Ireland to help end homelessness in Ireland, are you?Get involved at TodayFM.com/Busk
David has been in and out of homelessness for the last 20 years.We're all in for the Big Busk for Focus Ireland to help fight homelessness in Ireland.Are you?Find out more at todayfm.com/busk
Keilie O'Danza is 25 years old and a care leaver. Keilie was taken into care at 10 and is still traumatised about the time Gardaí arrived to her home with social workers to physically take her into care. She remains upset that she was separated from her younger siblings and feels the familial bonds were broken. When she turned 18, she voluntarily returned to her family of origin, and while she is still in contact with them, she felt she needed to live alone.Keilie joined Matt Cooper on The Last Word to chat about her experience with homelessness in Ireland, and the important role Focus Ireland has played in her life.On April 12th Today FM's Big Busk for Focus Ireland is taking place, we are asking you to go all in to help end homelessness in Ireland.To take part head to todayfm.com/busk
Today's panel includes Mick Clifford, Special Correspondent with the Irish Examiner, Louise Bayliss, founder of SPARK and Campaign Co-ordinator for Focus Ireland, Dan O'Brien, Chief Economist, Institute of International and European Affairs Lorna Fitzpatrick, Public Affairs Accounts Manager at Instinctif Partners & Member of the Labour Party
Actor Tom Vaughan Lawlor joined The Last Word to discuss his latest film, The Beautiful Game, releasing on Netflix on the 29th of March.Today FM's Big Busk for Focus Ireland is taking place on Friday 12th April.Over 13,500 people are without a home in Ireland – that's the equivalent of the entire population of Mallow in County Cork.Imagine not climbing into your own bed every night, not being able to cook your own dinner and trying every day to hide the fear in your eyes from your children. That's the daily reality for thousands of families.You can donate right now – it's very simple – go to todayfm.com/busk
Mike Allen, Director of Advocacy with Focus Ireland, explains why the charity is encouraging the homeless people it supports to vote ahead of the local and European elections in June.
On The Last Word, Matt spoke to James Flanagan about his experience of homelessness.TodayFM's Big Busk for Focus Ireland is taking place on Friday 12th April.Over 13,500 people are without a home in Ireland - that's the entire population of Mallow in County Cork. Imagine not climbing into your own bed every night, not being able to cook your own dinner and trying every day to hide the fear in your eyes from your children. That's the daily reality for thousands of families.You can donate now - it's very simple - go to todayfm.com/busk
The Big Bid is in full swing and businesses across the country are vying to get Ian Dempsey to broadcast from their premises on Friday 12th of April. It's all to raise funds for Focus Ireland as part of Today FM's Big Busk. On this morning's Gift Grub, Keith Duffy decided he wanted Ian down at Tyreland on the day but unfortunately, he wasn't able to meet the reserve price. Hit play now to hear the full episode.
Focus Ireland's Mike Allen discusses the rise in homelessness
Ciara Carty, Director of Services at Focus Ireland, and James Flanagan, Focus Ireland Service User, joined The Last Word to discuss the homelessness crisis and the near 4,000 children affected by it as we move closer to Christmas.Listen by pressing the 'Play' button on this page.
We have a month's worth of news to catch up on, ranging from transfers and awards to the Prof's love life. There's details on our first ever live podcast on stage at the Civic Theatre in Tallaght on January 13th and the much anticipated quiz final between Gary O'Neill and Jack Byrne, hosted by Harry Moore in Malahide. Paul Weafer pops by to talk Focus Ireland's 12 Days of Christmas Voucher Appeal and our author series continues with 'League of Ireland: An illustrated History 1980-1990' by Bartley Ramsay and Peter O'Toole, a fanzine about 80s kits.
Pat Dennigan, Chief Executive of Focus Ireland, looks back at the charity's impact on homelessness in Ireland last year as homelessness figures continue to rise.
He's a fashion designer, he's a broadcaster and he's one half of Ireland's most stylish duo. Brendan Courtney popped in for a cup of tea and a chat about his work with Focus Ireland, bringing back Lennon Courtney and the incredible celeb in his phone book!
Focus Ireland's Mike Allen explains the imapct of 5,735 notices to quit April -June