Tipperary County Council had around 100 presentations for homelessness during September

Tipperary County Council had approximately 100 presentations for homelessness in September, Cllr Seamus Morris has been told.

The council's housing section informed him that these presentations included various reasons.

The council has a homeless team in the north and the south of the county to include a homeless coordinator, two homeless prevention officers, two HAP place finders and clerical support.

"A lot of the queries that these presentations include can be resolved at the counter. For others, we have five clinics each week in Thurles, Nenagh and Clonmel where the homeless team work with the individuals to prevent them becoming homeless or assisting them to find HAP, for example, in the case of family breakdown to work with them and their family to resolve the issue until they can source alternative accommodation or where they have received a NTQ and come to us at the last minute, we link in with the landlord to ascertain if he can extend their stay for am period. Where they have received a NTQ, if we are in a position to purchase the property we will, (we have purchased 72 since the scheme was introduced in June 2022," he was told.

Cllr Morris was further informed that it was only in exceptional cases that the council will accommodate people in EA (B&B, OFD, transitional units), where all other options have been exhausted.

"Then we work with them extensively to source HAP in the first instance. Our homeless team has built up a good relationship with landlords across the county and where there are vacancies, they will approach us. Likewise if we allocate a LA/AHB property to an applicant current in HAP, we liaise with the landlord to use that property for other tenants.

"Initially in their area of choice and then after three months if they have no success, they need to consider extending their search outside their preferred area. The onus on these individuals also to do the work and to acknowledge that there is limited private rental and they need to be in a position to consider HAP outside of their preferred area.

"We encourage them to bid on CBL across the county where possible. We currently have 80 people in forms of EA to include OFD, B&B, transitional units and we are working hard to support them," he was told.

The council said that it had no nine-day or nine-week limit stay in EA if individuals were engaging and were genuinely considered homeless.