NoroughsleepersinCo Louthonnightofcount
THERE were no people found sleeping rough in either Drogheda or Dundalk on the night the Louth County Council (LCC) Rough Sleeper Count took place in the county, it has been revealed.
Senior Executive Officer for Housing, Aoife Lawler said she and a colleague carried out the count starting at 2.30am on November 15th.
She said they carried out the count until 5.30am and during that time there was no one sleeping rough in either Drogheda or Dundalk on that night. ‘ These 40 or 50 people you keep telling us are sleeping on the streets were not there. We checked the graveyard they all tell us they are sleeping in, there was no one there. We all know our friend who sleeps at the tower, he wasn’t there on the night.’ She said the pair carried out a thorough search and did not find one person sleeping rough.
However, some councillors expressed their shock at the findings of the Rough Sleeper Count.
Councillor Frank Godfrey said he had met many of those who are sleeping rough in Drogheda. ‘ They are out there. There’s a man sleeping in a tent in Highfield, one in a tent on the Slane Road. There was another man in with me who was sleeping in his van,’ he said.
Speaking following the meeting, Councillor Joanna Byrne said: ‘I am shocked at this result returning a count of nil, most people in this room knows of somebody, somewhere sleeping rough in this town, a small number of people it may be, but it is still a number. My understanding of the rough sleeper count is to get a clear assessment of the problem, understand the magnitude of it, and to allow the local authority make provisions to provide effective and safe accommodation for these people and to help deal with the issue. A zero count on the night, in my view, does not portray a clear image of the current situation.’
Cllr Byrne said she did not doubt the merits of the result, but made the suggestion that perhaps the local authority should liaise with the public reps in each area in advance of future rough sleeper counts.