Connacht Tribune
Galway Simon braced for upsurge in homelessness when evictions moratorium ends
A total of 265 homeless adults in the West were accommodated in hotels, B&Bs and hubs in the last week of January, the most up-to-date figures available.
The official statistics released by the Department of Housing for the week of January 23/29 show the numbers were slightly down on December when there were 272 adults availing of emergency accommodation.
It was the same as November and up on the situation in October when the figure was 250.
The majority – 155 – were between the ages of 25 and 44 and most were Irish citizens (117).
In the west, which includes the two Galway councils, Mayo and Roscommon, there were 95 families with 201 children recorded in a mixture of private emergency accommodation such as hotels and B&Bs and supported temporary accommodation, including family hubs and hostels. That is down from four months ago, when there were 101 families with 220 children being put up.
In December there were 100 families and 213 children.
There are 36 tenants in the west currently receiving wraparound supports to help them sustain their home and reengage in the community under the Government’s ‘Housing First’ policy, with two new tenancies created in the last three months of 2022.
Galway Simon’s head of fundraising and communications, Fintan Maher, said the continuing high level of homelessness in the west is very challenging.
“Over the last couple of months, we have seen a very welcome reduction in the number of people in emergency accommodation in the West. This is in contrast to the national figures which are increasing,” he explained.
“The causes of homelessness are many and complex. We believe that the work of Galway Simon’s dedicated prevention services are having a positive impact on the number of people who find themselves with no choice but to access emergency accommodation. Over 90% of the households supported by our prevention team in the last two years did not access emergency accommodation.”
There has been a welcome decrease in the number of young adults (18-24) in emergency accommodation, falling in January to 60 in the west. Galway Simon’s dedicated Youth Service supported over 100 young adults in 2022.
“The 26% increase in the level of family homelessness over the past year in the west is deeply concerning. It is very distressing to see 95 families with 201 children living in emergency accommodation in Galway, Mayo and Roscommon.”
Also of concern is the rise in female homelessness.
“The number of female adults in emergency accommodation grew by 15% in the past twelve months – 47% of homeless adults in the west are women, up from 40% in January of last year.
“Galway Simon’s dedicated Women & Family Service provides specialised supports to women and their families affected by homelessness. Our team works with women to prevent them from experiencing the trauma of homelessness and to help them with accessing secure and affordable housing. Other supports, including mental health support, are also provided to assist women in coming to terms with past trauma they may have suffered.”
Mr Maher said Galway Simon expects the coming months will be extremely challenging.
“The moratorium on evictions was a ‘least worst’ option over the winter months. It has helped to keep many people in their homes over the coldest months of the year. The indications now are that the moratorium will not be extended beyond March, and we believe that there will be an upsurge in the number of notices to quit when it comes to an end.
“Demand for housing here in the west continues to outstrip supply. While the new social housing units delivered last year were very welcome, the number of units coming on stream is well below what is needed. Landlords are continuing to exit the private rental market and demand for rental properties continues to far outstrip supply.”
Rents are still increasing – in Galway City average rents in December 2022 were 19.4% higher than December 2021.
The Galway Simon Community supported over 800 households including over 220 families with more than 470 children throughout 2022.
Cope Galway has also been moving from a reactive service to one which focuses on prevention through early engagement. It had one of its busiest years in almost 50 years in 2021 with the number of homeless people helped by the charity jumping by 14 per cent.
The greatest share of its resources went to help 1,316 families and individuals who were homeless or at risk of losing their home.
Of these, 994 were adults, 322 were children, 119 were families and 814 were single people, whose numbers were up by over a third on 2020.
The organisation extended its Street Outreach Service for rough sleepers from one to four mornings a week to deal with the numbers of regular street sleepers, who were mainly migrants and ineligible for services such as emergency accommodation.
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.
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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
