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	All of the homeless families living in a hotel which is now in receivership have been offered &ldquo;suitable alternative accommodation&rdquo;, Dublin City Council said yesterday.</p>
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	Lynam&rsquo;s Hotel on Dublin&rsquo;s O&rsquo;Connell St has acted as an emergency shelter for homeless families in recent months, but it must cease trading by next Monday.</p>
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	While the future operation of the hotel will be decided in court next week, all of the families were told to leave by the weekend.</p>
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	There is no contractual arrangement between the council and the hotel, which has been put in receivership by the National Assets Management Agency.</p>
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	The hotel was accommodating homeless families when the council was unable to find accommodation for them.</p>
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	The council has been pushed to the limit in dealing with the housing crisis, with 939 families in homeless accommodation in Dublin. Around 600 are in hotels.</p>
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	The council met with all of the families staying in the hotel over the last couple of weeks to help them locate alternative accommodation.</p>
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	A short statement issued yesterday by the city council said the Dublin Region Homeless Executive and the council were currently in negotiation about Lynam&rsquo;s Hotel.</p>
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	&ldquo;All families have been offered suitable alternative accommodation,&rdquo; it read.</p>
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	However, it is understood that around five homeless families, including 10 children, did not want to leave the hotel.</p>
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	Leanne Heffernan, who has been living in the hotel with two young children since being made homeless some months ago, said she refused to move to a nearby hotel because it had too many stairs.</p>
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	Leanne, whose youngest child is just three months old, was one of a number of families who sought help from the campaign group Irish Housing Network.</p>
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	The network, formed in May last year, is made up of 19 housing rights groups across Ireland.</p>
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	It held a rally in support of the homeless families yesterday, and another is planned for today.</p>
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	Niamh McDonald of Dublin Central Housing Action, part of the network, said they wanted secure accommodation for the families.</p>
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	&ldquo;They self-accommodate at the moment, which means they have to look for hotel rooms every two to three days,&rdquo; said Ms McDonald.</p>
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	Anna Farrell Osawe and her Nigerian-born husband have been staying in two separate rooms at the hotel with their five children, aged from 16 down to five months old.</p>
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	Anna said they had been offered a single room with six bunk beds in a nearby hotel.</p>
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	&ldquo;With my husband working in security at night and five children in the same room, he won&rsquo;t be able to sleep during the day,&rdquo; said Ms Osawe.</p>
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	(Published by the Irish Examiner on the 23rd July 2016)</p>
<p>
	<a href="http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/homeless-families-living-in-hotel-in-receivership-offered-suitable-alternative-accommodation-411993.html">http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/homeless-families-living-in-hotel-in-receivership-offered-suitable-alternative-accommodation-411993.html</a></p>
