Connacht Tribune
Report reveals scale of West’s homeless crisis
The national housing charity prevented more than 1,000 people – including over 400 children – from becoming homeless in the West last year.
New figures from Threshold show that its Tenancy Protection Service saved 1,014 people from becoming homeless in the west of Ireland in the last year.
The figure was included in the Galway Tenancy Protection Service Annual Report 2016-17, which was launched last week by Minister of State for Community Affairs, Natural Resources, and Digital Development, Seán Kyne.
The Galway-based service opened in June 2016 and provides advice and support to households at risk of homelessness in Galway, Mayo and Roscommon.
Almost half of the 534 households supported by the service were families, and a total of 406 children were prevented from becoming homeless.
The report found that the two biggest factors that threatened tenancies were tenants being issued with notices of termination requiring them to leave their rented property (35%), and rents being increased by their landlord (31%).
Threshold Regional Services Manager, Diarmaid O’Sullivan revealed that many of the families supported by the Galway Tenancy Protection Service were low and middle-income households, who were finding it increasingly difficult to access affordable, secure private rented accommodation.
“The in-depth advice and advocacy support we provided made the difference between tenants remaining in their homes and falling into homelessness, with the human misery that brings,” he said.
Recent figures from the Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government show that in the region of 200 homeless adults are living in emergency accommodation in the west – with a significant growth in the numbers of people sleeping rough, particularly in Galway city.
“Historically, homelessness has primarily been a problem in urban areas but it is no longer a phenomenon confined to Galway city,” Mr O’Sullivan added.
“Severe housing shortages in towns such as Loughrea, Ballinasloe, Tuam, Gort, Castlebar, Westport and Roscommon Town have increased the risk of households becoming homeless right across the west.
“While the majority of those contacting us were from the Galway area (88%), 6% were living in Mayo and 2% in Roscommon,” he revealed.
In launching the report, Minister Kyne acknowledged that having a roof over your head is something the vast majority of people always took for granted.
“The concept of homelessness was for somebody else – for most of us it was unimaginable. Unfortunately for an increasing number of citizens the concept is not only real it’s actually happened,” he said.
“Even the risk of losing your home is hugely traumatic. The worry about the effects on children, the vulnerability, the damage to self-esteem and confidence all on top of the day to day challenges life without a home brings, doesn’t bear thinking about.
For those 1,000 people, Thresholds TPS has prevented such an ordeal, and for that we must thank and congratulate their hard-working staff and management,” he added.
Minister Kyne also referred to the introduction of a Rent Pressure Zone in Galway earlier this year, which the report said, had a calming effect on the rate of rent increases.
“I had a number of discussions with Minister Coveney in the run up to the decision to include Galway City in the scheme,” said the Minister.
“The four per cent limit on rent increases has given breathing-space to hard pressed tenants, but ironically, some of the more conscientious landlords who kept their rent levels low for long term tenants are now looking at rents 50% higher in similar properties. This is inevitably going to end in a difficult situation for both the landlord and tenant.
“The Government has committed huge resources towards the housing crisis. It has challenged the Local Authorities to provide both social housing and the facilitation for an expansion in the provision of private housing.
“The streamlining of the planning process for housing is already having an effect on the timescales for delivery so we must keep the pressure on to deliver homes for our citizens,” he added.
Minister Kyne also said that last week’s approval of 23 social houses for Galway city was ‘a small but significant step’ on that road – and he added that plans for Ardaun, to the east of the city, were well on the way and would hopefully provide approximately 2,000 houses in a new community there.
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.
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.
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
