Mica and homeless
crisis in North West
13.08.21
Noel Daly, General Manager
of North West Simon Community was commenting following
publication of the Monthly Homelessness Report, which
shows that 94 adults and their child dependents accessed
Local Authority managed emergency accommodation in the
North West Region during the Week of 21 to 27 June,
2021. While the latest figure is lower than the previous
month, when the official number of people homeless in
the North West reached 100 people in a single week for
the first time, the overall statistics continue to show
an upward trajectory.
Analysis of the Monthly Homelessness Reports published
by the Department of Housing since 2016, shows that the
average number of people provided with emergency
accommodation in the North West more than doubled
between January 2016 and June 2021. The average number
accommodated in a single week in 2016 was 43 people,
while the average number accommodated in a single week
during the first six months of 2021 has been 91 people.
Noel says that ending the current homelessness
crisis requires an adequate supply of housing, available
to rent at an affordable price and right now the North
West Region doesn’t have either. The Simon Communities
of Ireland report, 'Locked out of the Market' found that
there were 13 properties in Leitrim and 9 properties in
Sligo Town available for rent on Daft.ie in March 2021.
None of the rents being sought for these properties was
within the HAP or Homeless HAP rent limits. |
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House in Quigley's Point that is
affected by the Mica defective blocks issue. |
Donegal is not included in
this quarterly study, however North West Simon
Community’s Place Finder Service in Donegal has been
carrying out weekly online searches for properties
available to rent in the county for a number of months.
In the first 3 weeks of July 2021, there were between 10
and 19 properties available to rent in a single week in
Letterkenny, 1 property in Bundoran advertised over the
3 weeks, and 2 properties available in Raphoe on July
21st. None of the rents being sought for these
properties was within the HAP or Homeless HAP rent
limits.
To rent any of the 1 bed apartments available on July
5th, a tenant would pay €30 per week HAP Contribution to
the Local Authority and a top up payment of between €22
and €208 per month to the landlord. This top up payment
would be in addition to the maximum €408, the landlord
would receive from the Homeless HAP. Top ups of between
€73 per month and €436 per month would be required to
secure one of the 2, 3, and 4, bed properties advertised
on July 5th.
The terms of reference for the working group on the
Defective Concrete Blocks Grant Scheme published on 28th
July 2021, estimates 'the scale of the problem in
Donegal as being between 1,200 - 4,800 private dwellings
and 541 - 1,000 social housing dwellings'. The terms of
reference make no mention of whether restoring the
damaged houses to useable condition will require
families to move out of their homes for work to take
place, but it seems very likely that this will have to
happen.
If only one per cent of private homeowners affected by
Mica in Donegal need to move out of their homes at any
one time, Simon Community research indicates there
wouldn’t be enough properties available to rent in the
entire North West region to accommodate them. 'In the
case of Mayo, the panel estimated that the minimum
potential number of private dwellings likely to be
affected is approximately 345 with 17 social housing
units across 3 estates known to be affected'.
While North West Simon Community is unaware of the
location of these properties, the possibility of
households from the northern end of the county looking
for a place to rent in the neighbouring counties of
Sligo and Leitrim, is an obvious possibility, placing
yet more pressure on the rental market in the region. It
seems inevitable in these circumstances that those on
low incomes will be squeezed out of the market and the
demand for local authority managed emergency
accommodation will increase significantly as a result.
Noel warns: “Government must not leave the local
authorities and the voluntary sector homeless services
across the region to cope with this problem on their
own. It is imperative that the Department of Housing
Local Government and Heritage, prepares contingency
plans to accommodate these families to ensure that the
North West region and surrounding counties don’t
experience levels of homelessness that are as yet beyond
our imagination”. |
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