Almost 400 homeless in Tipp

TIPPERARY Co Council had 399 homeless presentations as at September 30 last.

Of these, 202 were single people, 20 were couples, 29 were couples with children and 148 were singles with children.

Last week’s meeting of the council was also informed of 50 clients in emergency B&B accommodation (36 singles and 14 families). Responding to concerns over rising numbers of people without a home across the county, Director of Services Sinéad Carr said homeless presentations in Tipperary have averaged around 400 per year.

But this level had already been reached in 2023 before the final quarter of the year.

The meeting was also informed of 3,370 approved applicants on the council’s housing list.

Ms Carr said this is a decrease on last year’s figure and that the net housing need stands at around 1,100 applicants; the remainder are people seeking transfers.

The director praised the efforts of the council’s housing staff in trying to prevent homelessness and moving people out of emergency accommodation into permanent homes.

And she said the council has been making significant strides with its housing delivery programme, targeting around 700 new units in each of the coming years.

‘phenomenal’ achievement

Cllr Siobhán Ambrose noted that the council has 1,312 units at various stages of construction across Tipperary, which she described as a “phenomenal” achievement.

She also welcomed that Tipperary has received the highest allocation in the country of disabled person’s grants for local authority homes.

Several councillors vented criticism of a comparatively slower pace of housing delivery from approved housing bodies. Cllr Michael Fitzgerald was supported in his condemnation of the Peter McVerry Trust over lack of action on one unit in Bansha.

There were calls for greater accountability from housing bodies and for the council to take charge of any units that are not being used in the midst of a housing crisis.

Cllr David Dunne expressed concern over the council’s transient Own Front Door accommodation being used as long-term housing.

Cllr Joe Hannigan called for greater monitoring of people coming into the country looking for accommodation when the council’s housing services are at capacity. The influx is also placing a strain on the likes of health and education services. “Some of these people are genuine cases; some are not so genuine,” he said.

Ms Carr said the council works with approved housing bodies in the accommodation of clients with complex needs and in need of support beyond the remit of the council.

Own Front Door accommodation is used for families in need of emergency housing. It can be used for up to six months, during which time efforts are made to source more permanent accommodation.

sufficient EMERGENCY ACCOMMODATION

Ms Carr assured the meeting that the council does still have emergency accommodation capacity. The circumstances of every homeless presentation are thoroughly assessed, and Ms Carr advised that the best option for people in such a situation is to stay with family or friends.

If the council believes that there are no other options available, it will source emergency accommodation for a maximum of six months. She added that there have been circumstances where individuals are not suitable for B&B accommodation or where B&B owners may not want to take on a client over previous issues.

The meeting was also informed that the council received 292 notices to quit to date. These were cases of tenants having to leave their accommodation as a result of landlords moving out of the private rental market.

The council had purchased 78 of the properties involved.

Ms Carr spoke of a huge amount of work in sourcing accommodation for people that have received NTQs.

She reiterated the need for people to contact the council as soon as they receive a notice, rather than waiting until the six-month notice period is up.