Connacht Tribune
West records fastest increase in homeless
Family homelessness in Galway and the West is increasing at a speed that is four times the rate of the increase nationally.
The latest figures for families living in emergency accommodation are ‘frightening’ according to Galway Simon Community, which has urged Government to “wake up to the reality” and build more social housing.
Another charity, COPE Galway, said the homelessness situation is in danger of getting “out of control”, as it too called for more social housing to be built.
The latest statistics reveal number of people in emergency accommodation nationally increased from 7,699 in May 2017 to 9,846 in May 2018, an increase of 28%.
Over the same period, the number of people in emergency accommodation in the West increased from 250 to 514, an increase of 106% – the numbers more than doubled in the year and increased at nearly four times the rate of increase nationally. During that time, the number of dependents in emergency homeless accommodation in the West increased from 59 to 233, just shy of a fourfold increase.
The figures for May 2018 show that in just one year, an additional 63 families and 174 children are in emergency accommodation in the West of Ireland with the majority of those in Galway. This represents an increase of 77% in family homelessness.
The West’s figures include Galway, Mayo and Roscommon but the problem is most acute in Galway. In the West, there are 281 adults, 252 of whom are in Galway, and 233 children with no place to call home.
Not included in the stats are rough sleepers, or the ‘hidden homeless’, which are people who have been issued with notices to quit and who are ‘doubling-up’ and living with family and friends and temporarily couch surfing until they find alternatives.
Karen Golden, CEO of Galway Simon Community said the Government needs to wake up to the reality of the situation and start taking it seriously.
“Month after month, the number in emergency accommodation is steadily increasing. In Galway the emergency shelters and homes run by Galway Simon and COPE are at breaking point, meaning that hundreds of other individuals and families are forced to live in hotels, B&Bs and tourist hostels. It’s an absolute tragedy,” she said.
Under the Government’s Rebuilding Ireland plan, Galway City Council has been set a target by Minister Eoghan Murphy to deliver 399 additional housing units this year. Of these, some 96 homes are supposed to be new builds but it has been widely acknowledged that the Council is on course to deliver just 14 new builds in 2018.
Ms Golden said the Government’s Rent Pressure Zones – a policy that capped rent increases in Galway City at 4% per annum – are “absolutely not working”.
Rents have increased by 12.4% in the past year, three times the rent zone rate, she said.
This is explained due to a phenomenon referred to as ‘renovictions’, whereby landlords issue notices to quit in order to do up their properties and they bring them back, refurbished, at a much higher rent.
Ms Golden said all of the problems stem from a lack of housing supply. “We want to see more houses developed. What’s causing all of this is a lack of supply. We need to increase the supply of housing and ideally we want to have Councils develop more social housing,” she added.
These sentiments were echoed by Martin O’Connor of Cope Galway.
“The shortage of rental housing continues to be acute in Galway and rents continue to increase. This could get out of control very easily despite everyone’s best intentions and efforts. Additional social housing is the only solution . . . but the pace at which this is progressing is too slow and the number of homes being developed – 240 between now and 2020 in Galway City – is too little,” he said.
“Being homeless is an enormously stressful and damaging experience. Speeding up the delivery of much needed social housing, so that those without a home are provided for, has to be a priority for all at this time.”
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
