Connacht Tribune
Homelessness is worst in West of Ireland
Homelessness in the West of Ireland is increasing at a rate faster than anywhere else in the country – and without a significant increase in the number of social housing units, things are going to get far worse in 2019.
That’s according to CEO of Galway Simon, Karen Golden, who warned that the problem could get a lot worse before it gets better.
“The rate of increase in the West of Ireland, and the majority of that is in Galway City, is faster than any other region; there were 36 families in emergency accommodation in June 2014 – there were 499 in June 2018.
“We have a significant, increasing and sustained demand for our services. I don’t think anybody saw it getting that back, that quickly,” said Ms Golden.
The number of social houses built in Galway City this year came nowhere near making a dent in these soaring figures and this is a situation unlikely to improve in 2019.
“In quarter three of 2018, 4,700 houses were completed nationally; only 18 of those were in Galway.
“That is a negligible contribution to the issue and unfortunately, I don’t see it improving. There is virtually no social housing coming on stream, and I don’t see it coming next year either,” said Ms Golden.
Social housing is vital for the people availing of Galway Simon’s services, she says, and without it, demand will continue to far outstrip supply.
The charity has now reached a point where housing that was once used for people in emergency situations for a couple of days has to be used for people on a long-term basis.
“At its simplest, we would provide a housing service where we have a number of people living in Galway Simon houses.
“That would normally be used on a transitional basis where people would stay there in emergency circumstances but that is becoming increasingly more difficult because alternatives are not available,” explained Ms Golden.
In fact, rising rents mean that when someone is served with a notice to quit from their landlord, they are at serious risk of not being able to find alternative accommodation due to ever-rising rents.
“Rents in Galway City have gone up by 41 per cent over the past three years.
“It is said that the services are ‘silting up’ which is a really awful phrase that has come into use, but it does illustrate the situation.
“People are coming into emergency accommodation for a couple of nights, a couple of weeks at most, but they are ending up there for months on end,” said Ms Golden.
An overreliance on the private sector to provide social housing is exacerbating the problem and Ms Golden said the Government’s Housing Assistance Programme (HAP) was simply not working.
“We need to see more accommodation coming on stream and more quickly. There is very little in place in the short term for Galway – we need more of a focus on that.
“We would like to see the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) having greater powers to enforce the rent pressure zone in Galway City.
“We have a four per cent cap on rent increases yet they have gone up by 16 per cent in the past year – four times that rate,” said Ms Golden.
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.
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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
