Apollo House protesters march to Leinster House with petition to open NAMA buildings for the homeless

Marching from Apollo House in Tara Street members from the Home Sweet Home charity, homeless occupants of the Tara Street building, and other campaigners and activists made their way to Merrion Street accompanied by hundreds of supporters.

On arrival, the petition - which was signed by as many as 3,000 people in 24 hours - was handed to officials at the steps of the Department of Finance offices.

Following this, Housing Network activist Niamh McDonald gave a speech on the steps of the building about the need for the government to address the problem immediately.

Her speech was followed by stories from two people who had experienced homelessness first hand. These individuals talked about the current homeless accommodation that the government provides and the awful conditions of the state-administered hostels and BnBs.

Speaking to the crowd, one woman called Kerry shared: "They first put me in accommodation in town where I came into contact with crack cocaine. I didn't try it but I witnessed other people ruining their lives over that shit. I asked to moved to somewhere which didn't involve drugs but there was nowhere to move to. I was told I could go to another hostel. Within 10 minutes of being there, I saw three girls smoking heroin at the end of my bed. The smell of the drug was horrific. I begged to be moved for fear I would end up in the same boat as the heroin addicts and I thought at one stage that joining them would be a better way to go.

"After four long weeks I got moved to a BnB. I asked friends what the BnB was like and was told it was full of dampness. I had pneumonia at the time so didn't want to risk it. I was told I either go or my bed was gone, so I took the chance. I risked everything I had for this BnB because I knew if I turned it down I'd be on the freephone. Anyone who's been homeless knows that on the freephone you're spoken to like you're a dog, you don't get a bed, most of the time you don't get a sleeping bag anymore, so I took my chances with the BnB.

"I was told that at the BnB there would be no drugs or alcohol. There were nine families in my BnB so I let out a sigh of relief. I quickly realised that living with families meant I'd be spending all of time on my own in my room. I was just living and not existing. I can't remember the last time I woke up beside my partner because he's not allowed to stay with me.

"I never had any trouble paying rent, I never had any trouble with landlords and I've always been a good tenant. And yet I can't find a landlord to accept me. I go on viewings with 30 other people who are able to pay twice the rent that I can afford. I can't see any way out of homelessness apart from the government opening up NAMA buildings for the homeless. Look after the people instead of yourself is what I say. Do the right thing and open up the 50,000 NAMA buildings that are lying empty. Do the right thing for the people of Ireland."

Another man, named Mitzilo, shared his story: "I haven't been homeless all my life. I worked for my living but obviously the income was smaller than the expenses, so I ended up on the street. The thing about the homeless hostels is that they are not a solution to the homeless crisis. They sed you into dormitories where you have to share a room with a number of other people and it is guaranteed that some of the people in that room are going to be taking drugs. They are going to be injecting right next to you, just a few feet away from you. Put yourself in our shoes for a moment, would you be able to rest and have a good night's sleep if you were in a bed and people were injecting themselves? You would be scared stiff. You could be woken up with someone strangling you. So if the government are offering for us to go into those hostels, I say to Noonan and to the rest government, 'No thank you, I would prefer to sleep on the street. Your solution is not a solution.'"