There was fresh outrage over the Pope’s controversial visit to Ireland last night after it came out that thousands of sandwiches were thrown in the bin after his mass in the Phoenix Park.
One attendee reported that he saw food vendors binning huge amounts of unopened sandwiches after the mass.
Speaking to Joe Duffy on RTÉ’s Liveline, he said: “I was very shocked by it, I was just amazed.
“These sandwiches could have gone into the Capuchins, they could have gone out that night for the homeless. If there was a problem with health and safety they could have been given to the crowds.”
Binloads of sandwiches were left over after the Papal Mass at the Phoenix Park on Sunday. #liveline asked the OPW yesterday what happened to them… Hoping to bring you news of this from 1.45pm today. @joeliveline pic.twitter.com/xpVhinddx3
— Liveline (@rteliveline) August 28, 2018
He added: “If they were fresh enough to sell at the front of the counter they should have been fresh enough to give to people walking out behind.”
But the Office of Public Works later responded to the caller’s claims, saying they had tried to donate the food to charity to no avail.
They said: “[The charities] explained they were not in a position to accept sandwiches which were 36 and even 48 hours old, no matter how well they were stored in the meantime.”
“Many traders also attempted to have them distributed to charities but were unsuccessful for the same reasons. Many others just gave them away for free to members of the public as they left the site.”
The news comes just after shocking figures revealed that the number of homeless people across Ireland is about to hit 10,000 for the first time in the country’s history.
Image via @rteliveline
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