THE housing crisis has hit like a tsunami with hundreds of Limerick families left devastated in its wake.
That’s the view of Sinn Fein councillor for Limerick City North, John Costelloe, who has been inundated with calls for help from dozens of distraught Limerick families at his party’s offices on Mary Street in the city centre.
On one occasion two weeks ago they were even forced to close their office doors due to the “overwhelming” demand for assistance from families facing homelessness.
According to Cllr Costelloe, 95 per cent of those contacting the office are reporting with issues directly relating to housing from families struggling to meet mortgage payments, families looking for social housing, and families in receipt of the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) who cannot find rented accommodation.
Sinn Féin is now looking for bigger offices to help meet the growing demand for their help.
“Closing our doors was the last thing we wanted to do but we were simply overwhelmed. We couldn’t deal with the numbers looking for help. We had 30 people here Thursday two weeks ago looking for housing. It is getting worse. They are calling here on a daily basis,” Cllr Costelloe told the Limerick Post.
“On top of that, the phone doesn’t stop ringing. Mothers are coming in here with prams and young children and throwing themselves onto the floor. They come in crying their eyes out because they have nowhere else to go. The worse thing is there’s no housing for them so we have to send them to Pieta House or The Samaritans,” he explained.
Cllr Costelloe has described the current housing situation in Limerick as “heartbreaking” and questioned what kind of political establishment can bail out foreign banks and investors but yet is unwilling to look after it’s most vulnerable.
“You would need counselling from it. It is very distressing. My heart goes out to these families. You would need a heart of stone not to be moved by their plight as they tell of homelessness, overcrowding, sub-standard conditions, rack rent landlords and the constant threat of eviction for many.”
Novas Initiatives’ communications manager Una Burns has also expressed concern over the homeless crisis.
“Over the Easter bank holiday weekend, there were 47 presentations to our out-of-hours service from people who found themselves unexpectedly homelessness,” she said.
“With all emergency accommodation at capacity and the Winter Initiative due to end, we are extremely concerned. The situation is no better for vulnerable families. While our Intensive Family Support service has a capacity for 40 families, we have been working with 50 for the last few months which has placed a significant burden on the service and despite this extension there still remains 25 families on our waiting list at all times,” she explained.
by Alan Jacques
