‘Perfect storm’ for the homeless on horizon
By Aideen O'Flaherty
THE Mayor of South Dublin County Council has warned that “a perfect storm of homelessness” could be on the horizon in the coming weeks, as increased demand for hotel rooms for people attending sports events and the Pope’s visit could discommode homeless families in hotel accommodation.
As homeless figures have risen and there is a shortage of available affordable accommodation, Mayor Mark Ward has said that he has started “doing something I haven’t done before – I’ve started advising people not to comply with a notice to quit from their landlords, because they won’t find anything in the hotel market [if they become homeless].”
Abberley Hub
In June, 294 families in South Dublin County registered as homeless, which is a 10 per cent increase on the homeless figures from last March, and over 100 of those families are now housed in homeless hubs.
The difficulties that homeless families are facing were thrown into sharp relief recently when images started circulating online showing the six young children of Tallaght mother Margaret Cash sleeping on chairs in Tallaght Garda Station.
Mayor Ward told The Echo: “In the last two weeks it’s been an avalanche, a perfect storm of homelessness – all of these factors are coming together.
“Things like the two All-Ireland finals, the horse show and the Pope’s visit are all putting pressure on hotels and [homeless families] are being asked to move out.
“The hubs are full to capacity, and all the council can offer [when a family becomes homeless] is a list of hotels.”
Unable to find alternative secure accommodation
Families in the hubs are “unable to find alternative secure accommodation due to a lack of new social builds” which has led to families being unable to move out of the hubs to allow other families to move in, according to Mayor Ward, who is also a Sinn Féin councillor for Clondalkin.
When he was elected as Mayor of South Dublin County Council last June, Mayor Ward stated that housing would be his top priority during his mayorship, and he revealed that he was also homeless for several months in 2016 and 2017 after he received a notice to quit from his landlord.
South Dublin County Council were contacted for comment, however, they did not respond in time for print.
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