Connacht Tribune
End of eviction moratorium sees perfect housing storm
The easing of Covid-19 restrictions – including the lifting of the moratorium on evictions and a deepening housing crisis – has seen the Galway Simon Community support more people than ever at risk of and experiencing homelessness.
The charity recorded a massive increase of 26 per cent last year in the number of households supported compared to 2020, according to their 2021 Annual Impact Report, launched this week by Minister of State, Joe O’Brien.
Galway Simon Community’s CEO Karen Golden revealed they supported 814 unique households last year – including 246 families, with 563 children.
And while she welcomed the 364 new social homes delivered across Galway, Mayo and Roscommon in 2021, she also warned that demand continues to far outstrip supply with 4,052 households on the social housing waiting lists.
She further pointed out that – as rents continue to increase and more landlords are exiting the rental market – there are fewer properties available to rent.
All of that, she said, was further compounded by the increase in the cost of living which has left many who would never have seen themselves accessing homeless services, turning to Galway Simon for support.
In total, she revealed, the charity supported 1,511 people across its homelessness prevention and housing services last year. The annual report also revealed that the number of 18-25-year olds supported across Simon’s services increased by 25 per cent in 2021 over 2020.
“Our teams are more stretched than ever before, but we continue to do all that we can to support people for as long as they need us,” said Ms Golden.
“In 2021, we provided supports to rough sleepers and 4,745 emergency bed nights. We established new Housing First tenancies in Galway, Mayo and Roscommon.
“We extended the residential places in our Youth Service from eight to twelve, and acquired our first properties to provide tenancies for care leavers. Over 90% of those who accessed our City Prevention Service did not enter Emergency Accommodation. 37,084 meals were provided across our services,” she added.
Minister O’Brien acknowledged that the rise in homelessness ‘is a serious concern for Government and is being actively addressed’.
And he said that increasing social housing and residential housing supply is key to eradicating homelessness.
“At the moment State investment of over €4 billion a year in housing is aimed at increasing supply and the Housing For All plan is beginning to take root and deliver improvements,” he said.
The Galway Simon CEO acknowledged the incredible support that was provided by the charity’s funders, donors and supporters in 2021.
She also thanked all of the volunteers who made such an extraordinary contribution to Galway Simon Community’s work over the last year and who are an integral part of the community.
But she warned that there was is deep concern among Galway Simon’s teams about the winter ahead.
She called on the government to prioritise measures in the budget to mitigate the risks of food and fuel poverty, and the risks of homelessness, this winter.
(Photo: Galway Simon Community Karen Feeney and CEO Karen Golden with Minister of State for Community Development and Charities Joe O’Brien at the launch of Galway Simon Community’s Annual Impact Report).
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.
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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.
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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
