A TOTAL of 643 people who presented to the Council’s Homeless Action Team (HAT) seeking support in the last 12 months were placed in emergency accommodation – up from 569 the previous year.
The figure comes to just over half of all homelessness presentations to the team in the 12-month period.
This was the response to a question at September’s full meeting of Limerick City and County Council from Social Democrats councillor Shane Hickey-O’Mara.
The City North representative was also informed that 591 people presented for support in the 12 months up to August 31, 2024, and were not placed in emergency accommodation – down from 689 the previous year.
However, Senior Executive Officer of the Council’s Housing Support Services, Mary Hayes, explained that of the 591 cases not placed, HAT successfully worked on a collaborative basis with all units in housing to prevent homelessness arising in almost 300 cases.
Ms Hayes said it was important to note that many homeless presentations take place where families or individuals are at risk of potential homelessness which may or may not materialise over the coming months.
Councillors were told that there are a number of schemes in place which are of valuable assistance in mitigating this potential risk such as the Tenant in Situ Scheme, the Cost Rental Tenant in Situ Scheme, and HAP Place Finder.
“Every effort is made by the Homeless Action Team office to prevent the homeless presentation becoming an actual homeless placement in supported temporary accommodation,” Ms Hayes said.
There are, she also revealed, a different profile of reasons for single and family presentations.
“Many of the families presenting are on a notice to quit sometime into the future and thus won’t need a service when they present. In many of these cases, the HAT team are able to prevent homelessness with the schemes that have been outlined.”
Data produced to Council members indicated an overall reduction in the year on year number of people not able to access supported emergency accommodation.
“Many of these people who were unable to avail of the Supported Temporary Accommodation are rough sleepers who have a range of complex needs that prevent them from accessing services,” Ms Hayes said.
“In order to respond to this issue, Limerick City and County Council commenced a new initiative in conjunction with Anna Liffey in early 2024 which endeavours to engage with rough sleepers who cannot access services and encourage them to avail of services.”
She added that “many rough sleepers are often reluctant to engage with outreach teams and it can take a significant period of time for a trust relationship to be established owing to the many complex issues”.
