HAS YEARS

breakdown; release from prison and domestic violence.

Ms Carroll went on to say that the figures show that ‘it has not been possible to prevent homelessness in all cases, and the provision of emergency accommodation becomes a necessary intervention. The need to ensure sufficient provision of quality emergency accommodation across the various models of provision is apparent, from general supply to provision that is tailored specifically for the spectrum of homeless cohorts and their respective needs.’

The need for tenancy sustainment supports has been recognised as critically important for certain clients in order to maintain their tenancies and break the cycle of homelessness that can often exist.

The number of homeless people within the travelling community has also increased in recent years across the region, she said. Again this is mainly as a result of traveller families losing private rented accommodation, due to landlords selling properties or withdrawing properties from the rental market, and being unable to source alternative accommodation.

People with disabilities are also impacted, as it can be difficult to source suitable accommodation to meet their needs. CLLR Vincent Blake thanked Ms Carroll for the comprehensive report saying a lot of work was being done behind the scenes to address the problem.

He went on to say that in Greystones a lot of work had been done to help homeless families there. He raised concerns about the amount of funding that Wicklow was receiving in comparison to Kildare and Meath but acknowledged that Wicklow doesn’t receive the same level of funding because Wicklow has no emergency hostels.

He wondered if it were possible for the council to buy homes to use as emergency accommodation for homeless people.

‘Can we draw down more money and utilise our resources more?’ he asked.

‘In view of the figures we are doing a good job here in Wicklow. A lot of people are experiencing homelessness though and I think we need to look at other ideas.’

Cllr Mary McDonald said that more staff was needed on the ground to deal with the issue. She said while it was great to see actual figures there was no mention of the council’s policy on homelessness and wondered if there were concerns for the individuals who presented as homeless.

‘Overcrowding is also creating a huge problem and people are presenting with complex issues and may not fall into the homeless criteria. Do we have services within the council to help these people?’ she asked.

Cllr Tommy Cullen said hundreds of families across Wicklow are facing eviction from their homes and there is ‘no effort from the county to buy homes’. he said that vulture funds were trying to evict over 300 families in the county.

‘We ( Wicklow) didn’t build one home in 2016 and we didn’t apply for any money for housing in 2015. We were one of the few counties in Ireland who didn’t build any homes. It seems to me when families contact the housing department that no efforts are being made. The staff seem to be passing the buck to the Department yet the Department say we didn’t apply for funds.

‘It seems the money is there but the local authority isn’t drawing it down. There has to be a full review of the operation of the housing section. We are clearly not delivering.

‘We can’t always keep blaming the Government. These are problems that need to be sorted out.’

Cllr Steven Matthews said that Sa Baile was doing a wonderful job in Bray and said the council should continue to support the organisation and work closely with them.

Cllr Irene Winters agreed with Cllr McDonald that more staff were needed. She said that she had been dealing with a woman and her two children who had been forced to live in their car in Greystones in late November this year during a bitter cold spell.

‘It’s a disgrace’, she said.

Cllr Winters said that while she didn’t think the council should be putting people up in hostels indefinitely she felt the council stance ‘is particularly harsh and should be looked at’.

Cllr Jennifer Whitmore said the council needs to be innovative to address the problem of homelessness adding that far too many people within the county are sleeping on people’s couches or being squeezed into family homes.

Cllr Nicola Lawless said the staff are very ‘under pressure with people looking for emergency accommodation’ saying ‘it needs to be looked at’.

She said that she didn’t believe the figures recorded were an actual representation of the current situation.

Cllr Brendan Thornhill wondered if the council had an indication of the number of rough sleepers in Bray adding that it was very cold for people to be homeless.

Cllr Mary Kavanagh pointed out there had been a number of homeless people found dead in recent weeks and wondered if there was a centre available for homeless people to present at especially on very cold nights.

‘We need to be proactive. There was a very cold spell last week and there are also nights when it is like a monsoon. People can’t be protected from the rain when they are sleeping rough.’

Cllr Tom Fortune said ‘ resources are obviously an issue so we need to look at how we are using those resources.’

Cllr Gerry O’Neill said that people didn’t have to be living in alleyways to be homeless. ‘Many people are living in mobile homes, in caravans or in overcrowded homes. I’d identify them as homeless too.’

Ms Carroll said the council had recently completed the purchase of Carrig Eden in Greystones and urged the councillors to bring forward any ideas they had on how the homeless problem could be helped.

She also said the council is working to identify a building which would be accessible to rough sleepers at night and said she hoped to be in a position to progress that very shortly.

In response to Cllr Thornhill she said there are approximately 17 rough sleepers in Wicklow but added that not all of them wanted to engage with the council or homeless services.

The action plan was proposed by Cllr John Snell who said he supported any policy which helps the homeless and seconded by Cllr Blake.