Residents complain over people living in homeless shelter
Some parents won't let their kids into the village
A group of local residents are complaining about the impact that a homeless shelter near Naas is having on their community.
Kerdiffstown House opened around the end of 2018 to provide short term emergency accommodation for homeless people at Johnstown.
The project is supported by Kildare County Council.
A local resident said there are a lot of issues associated with the project.
“We do not have a problem with homeless people but we are getting incidents in Johnstown that we never had before. People are coming over to the village drunk or perhaps on drugs.”
The resident said that some people won’t let their children shop in the village as a result.
Read more Kildare news
It was also stated that residents of Kerdiffstown House use the footbridge spanning the motorway to access the village - and this a popular walking route which some are afraid to use.
The resident said many people feel that the shelter should not be as close to Johnstown.
”We cannot cope with the people who are coming in; there are just 400 houses in Johnstown.”
The resident said many people living there would prefer that the shelter is moved elsewhere.
Local councillor Fintan Brett there are complaints about the shelter. “That is not the ideal location but it is there and we have to deal with it," said Cllr Brett.
He added: “We are working as best we can to try to ensure that there is no disruption to community life.”
He said there are public order incidents and he has asked KCC to remove shrubbery near the bridge because this area is used by people for drinking alcohol.
He said he is in contact with KCC and the Peter McVerry Trust, which operates the shelter.