Homeless ‘hubs’ will finally open to families in March

Some adults and children in emergency accommodation in the city will move into the 15 modular units that are currently being built in the Westside by St Patrick’s Day.

There has been a delay of eight months in delivering the homeless ‘hubs’ as a result of the procurement process that local authorities must undergo before agreeing on contracts above a certain value.

This €2 million scheme will be a mix of two and three-bed units, of between 50 and 70 square metres in size, with a further two prefabs to be used by staff from the Peter McVerry Trust who will have a round-the-clock presence on the site.

A spokesman for Galway City Council told the Galway City Tribune: “Works are underway on site and will be completed by the end of February. The scheme will be operational mid-March under the management of Peter McVerry Trust and there should be occupation by St Patrick’s Day.”

They were originally scheduled to be open to families last September when the scheme was announced by Council CEO Brendan McGrath, who used emergency powers to push the plan forward without approval from councillors a year ago next month.

Set to be used as alternative accommodation for families and adults currently being housed in hostels, hotels and B&Bs, the modular units are earmarked for the site behind the Westside Shopping Centre for up to five years.

“The unfortunate delay on delivering these was procurement – yet again. It just takes that long to have to go through the whole procurement procedure and conforming to procurement rules,” explained the spokesman.

The Peter McVerry Trust – a homeless charity based in Dublin which is the biggest recipient of funding for homeless services in the State – has yet to recruit staff for the scheme pending the delivery date.

In the latest data from the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government in late November, 361 people were registered as homeless by councils in the west, with 223 of them being accommodated by the local authorities in hotels and B&Bs and 136 in supported accommodation such as homeless hostels. Of those, the vast majority – 325 – were in Galway.

COPE Galway’s annual report for 2019 shows the homeless charity worked with a total of 1,406 people experiencing homelessness in Galway last year – 457 of whom were children.