Connacht Tribune
Almost 60 households in county classed as homeless
The annual cost to Galway County Council of dealing with homelessness is becoming “unsustainable”, according to the local authority’s moneyman.
Ger Mullarkey, head of finance, was forced into the admission at the latest Council meeting where it was revealed there are currently 57 households in the county who are categorised as homeless.
The figure of 57 homeless homeholds in County Galway includes some people who are sleeping rough but mostly those categorised as ‘hidden homeless’, who are sleeping on friends’ couches or on floors in the homes of their families.
Director of Housing, Michael Owens confirmed the figure as he outlined the Council’s Draft Framework Homeless Action Plan, June 2017.
The Council has allocated €595,000 to homelessness this year, and 90% of this will be recouped from central government, as has been the case since the Housing Act was instigated in 1988.
Michael Owens told the meeting that the nature and extent of homelessness is changing in the county – it used to be predominantly single males but now more and more families are becoming homeless.
The homeless crisis facing the city has major implications for the county, he said.
“The impacts of the recent economic downturn and the consequential housing supply shortage have resulted in a new homelessness dynamic, whereby households which traditionally would have been able to access accommodation in the private rented sector are presenting to homeless services . . . Due to the demands placed on the homeless services based in Galway City and the new dynamic of families with children presenting as homeless, the Council is no longer in a position to meet its responsibilities to homeless individuals and families by availing of services in the city.
“It is recognised that many households at risk of homelessness are able to resolve their accommodation crisis with assistance, information and advice. For some households who are experiencing crisis, however, their homelessness may be enduring and require the availability of temporary accommodation and the wrap-around assessment and support services. There is currently no temporary emergency accommodation or temporary supported accommodation in the County of Galway,” he said.
As a result, the Council has to work closely with all stakeholders, “to develop and localise a range of supports and services to prevent homelessness, whilst at the same time continuing to work hard to advance housing-led solutions that effectively end the experience of homelessness.”
Timmy Broderick (Ind) said the new plan was very detailed but “we can’t afford it”, adding the Council’s finances are “in freefall”.
He insisted the voluntary housing agencies, “need to step up to the mark”, in terms of funding. And Cllr Broderick slammed Government departments for not giving adequate resources to the local authority to tackle homelessness. He said homelessness was an issue that was being “piggybacked on”, and “every time it is, it’s the local authority budget that is affected”. He challenged the director of finances to confirm if the levels of funding – 10% of the total outlay on homelessness is paid by the County Council – are sustainable.
In response, Mr Mullarkey said: “It is 10% we have to provide. Is it sustainable? Probably not. No.”
Chief Executive of the Council, Kevin Kelly, and Mr Owens, both reminded the meeting that the local authority has a statutory obligation to provide housing.
Peter Feeney (FG) said the Council has a service to provide, and this new plan was putting in place the structures to facilitate the implementation of the plan.
Cllr Broderick didn’t want the plan to be adopted until there was a pledge of more money but Cllr Feeney said you cannot apply for more money, or expect to draw it down, without first having a plan in place.
“This is about putting a cogent plan together so that we can get the money,” he argued.
Cathaoirleach Eileen Mannion (FG) said because of the statutory obligation on the Council with regards housing, the local authority was going to have to pay 10% of the cost regardless.
“This plan isn’t going to cost us any more if we adopt it,” she stressed.
Michael Connolly (FF) said he has been 18 years on the County Council, and the problem of homelessness has only surfaced as an issue with constituents in the past two.
He said many of them were people who lost their jobs, have young families and cannot afford their mortgage repayments. “We have to have a strategy to deal with this,” said Cllr Connolly.
The draft plan was adopted, and it was agreed a separate motion regarding the starving of Galway County Council of funds be sent to the department.
Significant state investment is required to address ‘shocking’ inequalities that leave cancer patients in the West at greater risk of succumbing to the disease.
A meeting of Regional Health Forum West heard that survival rates for breast, lung and colorectal cancers than the national average, and with the most deprived quintile of the population, the West’s residents faced poorer outcomes from a cancer diagnosis.
For breast cancer patients, the five-year survival rate was 80% in the West versus 85% nationally; for lung cancer patients it was 16.7% in the west against a 19.5% national survival rate; and in the West’s colorectal cancer patients, there was a 62.6% survival rate where the national average was 63.1%.
These startling statistics were provided in answer to a question from Ballinasloe-based Cllr Evelyn Parsons (Ind) who said it was yet another reminder that cancer treatment infrastructure in the West was in dire need of improvement.
“The situation is pretty stark. In the Western Regional Health Forum area, we have the highest incidence of deprivation and the highest health inequalities because of that – we have the highest incidences of cancer nationally because of that,” said Cllr Parsons, who is also a general practitioner.
In details provided by CEO of Saolta Health Care Group, which operates Galway’s hospitals, it was stated that a number of factors were impacting on patient outcomes.
Get the full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune, on sale in shops now, or you can download the digital edition from www.connachttribune.ie. You can also download our Connacht Tribune App from Apple’s App Store or get the Android Version from Google Play.
Galway 3-18
Cork 1-10
NEW setting; new opposition; new challenge. It made no difference to the Galway minor hurlers as they chalked up a remarkable sixth consecutive double digits championship victory at Semple Stadium on Saturday.
The final scoreline in Thurles may have been a little harsh on Cork, but there was no doubting Galway’s overall superiority in setting up only a second-ever All-Ireland showdown against Clare at the same venue on Sunday week.
Having claimed an historic Leinster title the previous weekend, Galway took a while to get going against the Rebels and also endured their first period in a match in which they were heavily outscored, but still the boys in maroon roll on.
Beating a decent Cork outfit by 14 points sums up how formidable Galway are. No team has managed to lay a glove on them so far, and though Clare might ask them questions other challengers haven’t, they are going to have to find significant improvement on their semi-final win over 14-man Kilkenny to pull off a final upset.
Galway just aren’t winning their matches; they are overpowering the teams which have stood in their way. Their level of consistency is admirable for young players starting off on the inter-county journey, while the team’s temperament appears to be bombproof, no matter what is thrown at them.
Having romped through Leinster, Galway should have been a bit rattled by being only level (0-4 each) after 20 minutes and being a little fortunate not to have been behind; or when Cork stormed out of the blocks at the start of the second half by hitting 1-4 to just a solitary point in reply, but there was never any trace of panic in their ranks.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
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GARDAÍ and the IFA have issued a joint appeal to all road users to take extra care as the silage season gets under way across the country.
Silage harvesting started in many parts of Galway last week – and over the coming month, the sight of tractors and trailers on rural roads will be getting far more frequent.
Inspector Conor Madden, who is in charge of Galway Roads Policing, told the Farming Tribune that a bit of extra care and common-sense from all road users would go a long way towards preventing serious collisions on roads this summer.
“One thing I would ask farmers and contractors to consider is to try and get more experienced drivers working for them.
“Tractors have got faster and bigger – and they are also towing heavy loads of silage – so care and experience are a great help in terms of accident prevention,” Inspector Madden told the Farming Tribune.
He said that tractor drivers should always be aware of traffic building up behind them and to pull in and let these vehicles pass, where it was safe to do so.
“By the same token, other road users should always exercise extra care; drive that bit slower; and ‘pull in’ that bit more, when meeting tractors and heavy machinery.
“We all want to see everyone enjoying a safe summer on our roads – that extra bit of care, and consideration for other roads users can make a huge difference,” said Conor Madden.
He also advised motorists and tractor drivers to be acutely aware of pedestrians and cyclists on the roads during the summer season when more people would be out walking and cycling on the roads.
The IFA has also joined in on the road safety appeal with Galway IFA Farm Family and Social Affairs Chair Teresa Roche asking all road users to exercise that extra bit of care and caution.
“We are renewing our annual appeal for motorists to be on the look out for tractors, trailers and other agricultural machinery exiting from fields and farmyards,” she said.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App
Download the Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App to access to Galway’s best-selling newspaper.
Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
Or purchase the Digital Edition for PC, Mac or Laptop from Pagesuite HERE.
Get the Connacht Tribune Live app
The Connacht Tribune Live app is the home of everything that is happening in Galway City and county. It’s completely FREE and features all the latest news, sport and information on what’s on in your area. Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
Families queue up for school’s offer of free house
West has lower cancer survival rates than rest
Galway minors continue to lay waste to all opponents
Gardaí and IFA issue a joint appeal on summer road safety
Marathon Man plans to call a halt – but not before he hits 160 races
