Cllrs query impact of eviction ban as homelessness figures increase

The issue of homelessness in Co Meath was raised by Independent Cllr Alan Lawes at the monthly meeting of the county council when he said that 16 more people, including seven children, had been added to the list of people without homes between June and July.

He said the Minister for Housing had been warned that at the end of the eviction ban, the numbers of homeless people would increase. “We need an action plan at a local level”, he said.

Independent Cllr Nick Killian asked officials what effect the ending of the eviction ban had had on the housing situation in the county.

Sinn Fein Cllr Eddie Fennessy asked questions about Nangle Court and Applewood Court in Navan. He wondered if there had been a reduction in the number of houses at Applewood Court because he had previously seen that 23 units would be available whereas it was now down to 19. He wondered when the building of apartments at that location would start.

Independent Cllr Gillian Toole said she was trying not to be repetitive but she expressed concern about the number of people who were homeless. “I think that at this stage we need to escalate this in terms of government intervention. When we look at the main reason for the use of emergency accommodation we have to look at the age profile of people in that category and the main issue seems to be relationship or marital breakdown”. She wondered if this was a common trend in other local authorities.

There was also a lack of one-bed units and she wondered what was the back story in relation to that. She said they might be told that this was an executive function and not something for the attention of councillors but “we do represent the taxpayer who funds everything”. The cllr said she wondered what conversations had taken place between the council and developers on the issue of one-bed units.

On transport issues Cllr Toole complimented the council on the amount of work being done in the municipal districts. She said it was great to get a weekly email on the specific works about to be carried out.

While the issue of safety around schools, mentioned by Cllr Mike Bray, would not arise due to the holidays, it would be back on the agenda for September. There was an issue about school wardens at Ratoath and Rathbeggan, something she had raised numerous times. Engineering solutions were one thing but the council could not let the issue go off the agenda.

Council Director of Services Martin Murray, commenting on the school safety issue, said that the council had received funding for specific schools in respect of new ramps and other measures. When schools became interested the council was happy to work with them through the council’s own in-house expertise and through the National transport Authority. They continuously looked at the issue of ramps.

They also looked at low-cost measures and the council submits application to a government department for these. Audits were carried out on the need for safety measures and where it identified that a school warden was not needed, then it was not appropriate to put a warden in provided the infrastructure the council put in was up to standard. Cllr Toole sought copies of the safety audits.