Homeless in hotels cost €30,000 per week

Galway’s homelessness crisis has escalated, with the cost of providing emergency shelter spiralling to almost €120,000 per month, or €30,000 every week.

Shock new figures reveal the total cost of providing B&Bs, hotels and other shelter to people who present as homeless, was €817,599 during a six-months period.

Increases in rents, and difficulties in repaying mortgages are among the reasons blamed for the increase in numbers presenting to City Hall because they have no place to go.

The information was released to the Galway City Tribune following a Freedom of Information request.

Galway City Council confirmed it paid-out some €817,599 to cover the cost of providing emergency homeless housing between October 2015 and May of this year.

During that period some 256 people presented as homeless to the Council – roughly 42 every month.

The bulk of this money was accounted for last November, when some €322,066 was paid; and in April and February of this year when two separate payments both totalling €181,000 were paid to cover the costs of emergency housing.

There were further payments over the six months including: €22,078 in October; €17,735 and €1,222 in November; €26,427 on New Year’s Eve; €18,614 and €756 on New Year’s Day; €3,156 in February; and €22,830 in March.

The monies were paid to voluntary bodies who deal with homelessness and who house homeless people in dedicated centres as well as hotels and B&Bs on behalf of the Council.

For more on this story, see this week’s Galway City Tribune