Galway City sees surge in home seekers as numbers rise
A TOTAL of 241 adults accessed emergency accommodation in Galway during the final full week of July, new Department of Housing figures show.
The figure, covering Galway city and county, relates to the period from July 20 to 26. The statistics cover people accessing State-funded local authority homeless emergency accommodation.
This was up by 10 from the previous month, rising from 231 during June 22–28 to 241 during July 20–26.
A further 183 adults were recorded in Mayo and 16 in Roscommon, bringing the total for the West region (Galway, Mayo and Roscommon) to 440 at the end of July.
Of the 440 adults, 241 were men and 199 were women.
There were also 118 families in emergency accommodation across the three counties, with 208 children among them.
Almost half were single-parent families. And half of the adults in emergency accommodation across the West were aged between 25 and 44, with 221 people in that age group.
Almost four in five adults in emergency accommodation across the region were Irish citizens.
Of the 440 adults, 347 were Irish citizens, while 49 were EEA or UK citizens and 44 were non-EEA citizens.
Most adults in emergency accommodation across the West stayed in private emergency accommodation, which includes hotels and B&Bs.
Of the 440 adults recorded, 360 were in private emergency accommodation, while 80 were in supported temporary accommodation such as hostels and family hubs.
The Department publishes these figures monthly, recording those staying in State-funded emergency accommodation during a specific week, typically the last full week of the month.
Nationally, 17,527 people accessed emergency accommodation in July, including 11,868 adults and 5,659 children.
The latest figures come after Galway County Councillors raised concerns earlier this year about homelessness and the operation of the out-of-hours response in the county.
Cllr Donagh Killilea (FF) said at the time that the county was “not going the right way” on homelessness.
“People should be given, as best as possible, the chance to get a bed for a night,” he said, calling for policy changes to support the delivery of homeless services.
Councillors also raised concerns that vulnerable people can be left with little option but to travel to Galway city for emergency accommodation, with calls for more local accommodation and support services.
Council officials acknowledged that homeless services were under severe pressure, while Chief Executive Liam Conneally accepted concerns around the out-of-hours phone service.
Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme