Call for review of emergency accommodation practices in Mayo

A REVIEW of emergency accommodation practices in Mayo has been sought by a local councillor.

It comes after issues around anti-social behaviour in Knock village were raised by Aontú Councillor Deirdre Lawless.

There have been incidents of break-ins and thefts, along with dumping, parking in business spaces, and glass being thrown from the balcony of one building, she informed the monthly municipal district meeting this week.

It stems from one building, Councillor Lawless stated, as she raised questions about the use of the property by Mayo County Council as emergency accommodation, saying there is no contract so no one has responsibility.

Roscommon County Council is also using the property and she received the support of colleagues in saying that they should look after their own people.

The matter is impacting local businesses, said Councillor Lawless. And older people are afraid to sleep at night because of the break-ins.

She was told by central housing that unless they have the name of someone offending they can't do anything. And Mayo County Council won't investigate; it's the property owner who will investigate any alleged anti-social behaviour.

“It seems no one is responsible yet we are paying the bill,” she commented. The system isn't good enough for anyone involved. “Any agreement without a contract doesn't make sense.”

Councillor Lawless continued that Roscommon County Council has verbally confirmed they are sending people from prison, but there are no wraparound services available locally for these people.

The objective should not simply be to house people released from prison; it should be to help people rebuild their lives while giving communities confidence that proper safeguards are in place, she said, pointing to organisations such as COPE and other professionally managed service providers used by some neighbouring local authorities, which support individuals.

Director of services Tom Gilligan said he would contact the property owner for clarification. The reality is that they have a duty of care and anyone going into emergency accommodation has a duty of care as well. Anyone misbehaving was not entitled to accommodation.

Councillor Lawless reiterated that the council in Roscommon should look after their own, not sending them to Mayo.

Homelessness is a complex issue, said the director, and they are there to help people.

Councillor Lawless said she didn't believe this serves anyone, the person or families Councillor Richard Finn was of the view that there are too many people going around setting themselves up as accommodation providers.

If people are being put to prison, the government has a duty to provide proper accommodation and services for them on release.

We have our own local people who are finding it impossble to get any accommodation and we have no place to put them, he said. And the government was responsible as they are not providing enough housing.

They have obligations, but every county should be taking care of its own, Councillor Damien Ryan stated, and there has to be standards.

The department need to get ahead of this, with clear directions and national standards, he said.

Double standards in cross-county exchange were highlighted by Councillor Alma Gallagher, who commented on the red tape facing people who apply for social housing in one county who then want to move across the border.

In a statement after the meeting, Councillor confirmed she will now bring a motion before the next meeting of Mayo County Council seeking a full review of existing emergency accommodation practices, the introduction of robust contractual and safeguarding standards for publicly funded accommodation, and an examination of whether greater use can be made of professionally-led supported accommodation models.

"Compassion and community safety are not opposing ideals. The best public policy delivers both, and I believe Mayo can too," she stated.

* Funded under the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme