Town that claims there is no one sleeping rough..
Calls have been made to aid homeless THIS is the shocking picture of a homeless woman lying in a street of a town where a council claims no one sleeps rough.
She was wrapped in a filthy duvet as snow fell just a few metres from Drogheda’s tourist office.
Louth County Council maintains there are no homeless people but residents have rubbished this as they witness them every night.
At a recent meeting of the local authority it was stated there was no one sleeping rough on the night of November 15.
But residents insisted the council, which is based nearly 30km away in Dundalk, does not know what is going on in Drogheda.
Sinn Fein councillor Joanna Byrne said she can’t believe the claims there are “zero” homeless people in the town and raised her concerns at the meeting.
She added: “To be honest 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 to make provisions for these people and to deal with the issues.
“A zero count on the night, in my view, does not portray a clear image of the current
YESTERDAY
Most people know of someone sleeping rough in this town
SINN FEIN’S JOANNA BYRNE
situation.”
Residents told how on most nights people are sleeping outside a local fast food restaurant while others have set up a makeshift camp near a main road.
In October a 24-year-old homeless man, who had been sleeping in a doorway, was found dead in a derelict building.
Councillor Frank Godfrey said: “I have been around the town to see for myself and I am aware of a lot of people who are homeless and sleeping rough.
“I have evidence of this. I know of a man who is sleeping in a tent close to a local estate.
“I know another group who have been sleeping under the Bridge of Peace.
“There are also a number homeless squats in the town.
“With the weather so something needs to be done.” of bad