9 December 2017
By Bryan Smyth
bryan@TheCork.ie
Cork City Cllr Fiona Ryan (Solidarity)
Cork City Cllr Fiona Ryan (Solidarity) has called on central government to allocate additional resources to homelessness services after news of the death of another homeless woman emerged this week.
Councillor Ryan said:
“The reality is that the housing crisis will worsen over the next two years, and our already struggling homeless services will only feel increasing pressure as the crisis sharpens.
We need to be able to guarantee not just a bed for every person who needs one but also that some level of dignity can be assured to people as well. It is incredibly common for people to be turned away from shelters and told to come back in the evening in the hopes that a vacancy has arisen but that uncertainty is intolerable.”
Cork City Council budgeted for an additional €600,000 towards homelessness service provision however Councillor Fiona Ryan said that figure is only a drop in the ocean for what is necessary to tackle the escalating housing emergency.
“All forecasts show that we have not hit the peak in the housing crisis yet and while the additional funding secured this year is welcome, it wont go nearly far enough considering the under funding that already exists and the expected rise in people requiring help as the number of available rental properties reduce and the costs spiral out of the reach of people on average wages, let alone those who rely on state supports.
[the Taoiseach] Leo Varadker and members of the political establishment have made an active attempt to normalise the housing crisis over the past month. They’ve done this precisiely because they know that things will only worsen and currently, they don’t appear to be willing to put in sufficient investment to protect people. The status quo is not working. We need action, and urgently.”
