Wexford housing applicants who are at risk of homelessness and have ‘medical needs’ should be given ‘additional priority’

By Simon Bourke, Wexford People

Housing applicants who have medical needs and are also at risk of homelessness should be given “additional priority” according to Rosslare councillor Aoife Rose O’Brien.

Speaking at the June meeting of Wexford County Council (WCC) the Sinn Féin councillor asked whether a dual priority system could be introduced in cases where applicants were particulary vulernable.

“Does a dual priority exist where there’s a medical need and the applicant is also homeless?” she asked. “I thought an individual in that position would be given additional priority but council staff have informed me that isn’t the case. This should be implemented, a person in that position is more vulnerable.”

Citing a case she had been working on, Cllr O’Brien said housing some applicants could literally save them from death.

“There’s a woman I’ve been helping, she’s in her eighties, has chronic COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) and heart failure, she has been hospitalised on a number of occasions. Is there a timeframe for how long it takes to house someone in a case like that?”

Reluctant to make any commitments without knowing more about the case in question, director of housing Carolyne Godkin said her staff dealt with each individual on a “case-by-case basis” and that housing allocation was dependent “on the availability of stock” in the respective area.