Councillor says people are intentionally making themselves homeless to access housing

A Sinn Féin councillor says a small number of people in Tipperary are intentionally making themselves homeless to speed up access to council housing.

At the February meeting of Tipperary County Council, Councillor David Dunne spoke about the problems the homeless action team faces when assessing applications for housing.

"The homeless team in Clonmel are exceptional in the work they do, because they’re dealing with the hardest of hard clients,” Cllr Dunne said.

"Over 800 people presented to the homeless team, and what they have to deal with on a daily basis is shocking, because you’re dealing with people who, sometimes, are not well, and they’re not in control of their minds, and they come in with stories that don’t add up.

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"As councillors, we have to take it that they’re telling us the truth, but the homeless action team then have to go through that with a fine-tooth comb to make sure that they’re not abusing the system,” Cllr Dunne said.

The Sinn Féin councillor said he is willing to point out when people take advantage of the system and that he knows of several cases in which people tried to get a house by giving false information.

"Some people are trying to make themselves homeless, and some people are actually going homeless to try to get a leg up on the ladder, that’ll tell you how desperate the situation is,” he said.

"We know there’s a lot of houses being built in Tipperary, the county is exceeding its targets, and they’re the facts, but they’re not enough, and we need to do a lot more,” Cllr Dunne said.

The Carrick-on-Suir councillor said a larger social problem is a main reason for homelessness in Tipperary and asked the council to work with the HSE to address the main causes.

"If we don’t tackle the wider social crisis that we have in Ireland, that is drug and alcohol addiction, we are not going to sort the homeless crisis.

“One-bedroom, two-bedroom houses are not going to solve the homeless crisis unless we get wraparound services, and the 9-9 services around the county are doing a lot, but we also need a dry 9-9,” Cllr Dunne explained.

“A dry 9-9 hostel would suit people who are just down on their luck, for the ones who aren’t into drugs or alcohol, they’re just genuinely down on their luck, and I don’t think we should only be able to put these people into a 9-9 with other people who are genuinely not well,” he added.

"We need wraparound services. Can we work closely with the HSE to try and get more support for these people that are in the throes of addiction?” Cllr Dunne asked.

In response, Jonathan Cooney, the council’s director of housing services, stated that the council employs several approaches to address homelessness throughout the county.

"In the overall context, we have the 9-9 in Clonmel, we have B&Bs, we have Matthew Bourke House, we have cold weather initiatives around the county, and several other ways we deal with homelessness.

“These all work in their own ways and have their own benefits,” Mr Cooney added.