Mayo's housing crisis reaches ‘desperate’ proportions

FOUR people with no bed for the night and absolutely nowhere to go - not even a tent for shelter.

That was the reality of homelessness facing people in Mayo, a situation exacerbated with visitors enjoying the summer sun occupying all available beds in hotels and B&Bs.

A similar story is being told at the constituency offices of Rose Conway-Walsh 'every day, several times a day'.

It is, the Sinn Féin TD admits, 'almost impossible' to keep up with the number of people contacting her offices in Belmullet, Ballina and Castlebar seeking help to find or keep a home, or even just a place to lie down for the night.

"It's a desperate situation and the government don't seem to understand the absolute emergency of it," she said.

Coming off a call with the people affected here, August, she said, is problematic with holiday accommodation not available despite the council's efforts to assist.

The house these people were in for years was sold and there is nothing to offer them.

The housing crisis continues to deepen, with rents in Mayo up 90% from their lowest point, according to the latest daft.ie report. They increased 16% in the last year alone.

Meanwhile, instead of pushing on with rapid build, local authority housing projects are bogged down in bureaucracy and taking far too long to get off the ground, she said.

The Mayo Cost of Living Coalition group, whose members include Sinn Féin and People Before Profit, are organising demonstrations next month to demand action on the inflationary crisis.

Deputy Conway-Walsh gets calls every day from people whose families are struggling to survive and small business owners facing closure as energy bills double. One Mayo business's August electricity bill went from €18,127 last year to €41,530 - after cutting their usage by 11%.

This business employs 50 people. “Where do they go?” she asked.

Two smaller shops also reported 50% increases this past week, with bills now of €4,000 and €9,000 respectively.

"These businesses are not going to be able to survive," she said, having a knock-on affect in their communities.

There is an opportunity in the budget to sort some of the issues in some way but measures need to be fair and targeted, said Deputy Conway-Walsh.