The Clare Champion Clare news, sport, entertainment and local notes
THE level of demand for homeless services in Clare is as high as it has ever been, the County Council management’s report for October states.
“Demand for homeless services in Clare are unprecedented for this time of year. At the time of writing emergency accommodation is at capacity with a waiting list in place for access to accommodation,” it claimed.
The report said it is very hard to find new accommodation, even though it is badly needed.
“The Council continues to pursue additional emergency accommodation however this is proving challenging due to competing demands for accommodation in the County.”
During the period from August 19 up to September 15 it found that 13 households exited homeless services, but there were 40 new presentations, along with 191 repeat presentations.
At the October meeting of the Council, Director of Service Ann Haugh said that Clare’s experience is not exceptional.
“We are reflecting what is happening nationally really, presentations are rising.”
Also at the October meeting Councillors Joe Garrihy, Cillian Murphy and Liam Grant put forward a motion seeking discussion on the recently published Clare Anti Poverty Survey.
The motion requested “a workshop be provided with elected members and senior staff to discuss key points from the recently published Clare Anti Poverty Survey with a view to identifying specific relevance to issues within the control and remit of Clare County Council and to focus on its impact and relevance to key strategies / strategic initiatives such as tourism, housing and Clare Rural and Economic Development”.
A written reply from Director of Rural Development Leonard Cleary said, “Clare County Council received a copy of this report recently and is considering the report recommendations.
“It is proposed to discuss the report in various fora. An invitation has issued to the report author to present to the Clare Rural Development Forum, which includes representatives of the Local Government statutory sector, community sector and business sector.
“Elected members, including the proposers of this motion, are represented on this forum. In the context of the new Local Economic Community Plan this report would need to be considered by the Council’s statutory Local Community Development Committee.”
He said that it may also be relevant to some of the Council’s Strategic Policy Committees, and that it was important to note that the report had a “significant number of recommendations for policy at National Government level”.
Owen Ryan
Owen Ryan has been a journalist with the Clare Champion since 2007, having previously worked for a number of other regional titles in Limerick, Galway and Cork.
