Mayo homeless rate ‘among the worst’
Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh described the homelessness problem in Mayo as 'shocking'.
Mayo has one of the highest rates of homelessness outside our cities, according to Sinn Féin TD Rose Conway-Walsh.
She said the county has now the sixth-highest number of people suffering from homelessness in the country.
"There are now 572 people homeless in the West, 220 of whom are children. There are 77 people homeless in Mayo alone. Not only are more people homeless but the hardship they are in is also getting worse.
"The Government callously lifted the no-fault eviction ban without there being any additional emergency capacity in place. There is no emergency accommodation.
"In Mayo, 80 people were issued a notice to quit in the past 12 weeks alone, with a total of 274 since the start of the year.
"We know that a number of those people will end up homeless."
Deputy Conway-Wash revealed the problems faced by a family she met at the weekend.
"Not even the hotels or bed and breakfast accommodation will take their vouchers. The reason is that the family has three children and one of the children, a three-year-old, is autistic.
"Living in a confined space in a hotel room is not a conducive environment for children with autism," she explained.
"While this Government remains in power housing in Mayo will only get worse. We need a change of policy and a change of government.”
