Homelessness is at record numbers across the country and street kitchens, which deliver free meals to homeless people, have been playing a vital role in providing supports. 

However, there are now steps to regulate these services - which already struggle to keep up with demand - and providers have said might make it more difficult for them to operate.

Dublin City Council is drafting a proposed new bylaw to end charitable groups’ ability to set up services, providing mostly hot food, for people queuing on the city’s streets.

The Muslim Sisters of Éire spokesperson Lorraine O’Connor told Moncrieff that her group provides an average of 400-500 meals a week.

“Now, that can hover from 350 – never goes below 350, I’m just going off our database in the office – to 675,” she said.

“It’s heartbreaking; we arrive down there at six o’clock, we set up and ready to open up by half six and when we arrive there the queue goes from the GPO right around into the middle of Henry Street.

“Now, that’s hail, rain, snow, people are just queuing quietly just waiting.

“So, it’s usually around half four the queue starts.”

The Muslim Sisters of Eire set up for the annual soup run for homeless and people in need, 30/07/2021. Photo: Sam Boal/Rollingnews.ie

Ms O’Connor said the potential upcoming requirement for street kitchens to apply for a special casual trading license “just doesn’t make sense”.

“When they said that, we were at a meeting a couple of weeks ago and this popped up – we're not traders, we’re not selling food,” she said.

“This just doesn’t make sense, I’m not even going to accept that.

“I don’t know why I’m applying for any trading license; I’m not a trader, I’m a registered charity.

“First of all, I don’t know whether that would sit with the charity regulator that you’re applying for a trading license, because you’re not a trader.”

'Provide a building'

According to Ms O’Connor, other street kitchen services feel similarly about the proposed regulation.

“What I think Dublin City Council needs to do, there’s enough empty buildings in our city – provide a building,” she said.

“You’re not giving us funding for this, provide a building.

“Actually, open the GPO, the offices are all finished in there; open the GPO and provide it for the people of Dublin.”

The latest figures show that a record 15,199 people were homeless in November 2024.

Main image: The Lending Hand, a soup kitchen feeding up 300 people every Monday evening on College Green in Dublin city centre. Image: PA Images / Alamy. 29 October 2019