‘People forced to couch surf should be classified homeless’

SINN Féin councillor Deirdre Ferris has said 814 applicants on the housing list are living with friends, parents, or relatives and should be classified as homeless.

Tabling a motion at Monday’s meeting of Kerry County Council (KCC), she asked that the council include certain applicants on the homeless list who do not want to seek emergency accommodation which is often limited and mostly confined to Tralee and Killarney.

But KCC said it must adhere to ‘established conventions and definitions’ in welfare legislation.

The council acknowledged there are limited instances where applicants residing with family, friends, or relatives want to avoid emergency accommodation. However, these applicants are classified as being in ‘secure accommodation’ and not deemed homeless under the Act.

Cllr Ferris questioned the interpretation of the Act saying it states a local authority has flexibility in defining its own version of homelessness. She asked the council to review the figures because of the significant number of people unable to provide accommodation from their own resources and, in order to avoid emergency accommodation, are forced to ‘couch surf ’ with family and relatives.

“I’m asking that these applicants, who have no alternative but to live with family, relatives and friends, and who want to be included on the homeless list, should be included,” she said.

“If they are living with family members – not by their own volition – they deserve the right to be recognised as homeless and be in receipt of the same supports.”

Cllr Ferris is currently dealing with a family with a child with special needs that is ‘split up’ and staying with different friends. She asked fellow councillors to support calls to amend the council’s emergency accommodation policy. She added that people who couch surf do so to stay out of crowded hostels.

“That [family] is an emergency because they are homeless. I’m sorry to see that the council’s version of secure accommodation is nowhere near the reality of what it is because none of that couch surfing and living in overcrowded conditions is secure accommodation. It is a desperate situation and our homeless figures are not reflective,” she said. Council management said it was a ‘liberal interpretation’ of legislation and that some cases want to be classified as homeless, yet don’t avail of emergency accommodation.

Cllr Ferris (left) refuted this, saying policy needs to change.