THE opening of a homeless hub for families in Clonakilty needs to be supplemented with a similar type of centre for single people, according to Social Democrat Cllr Isobel Towse.

‘It is needed to meet the most urgent requirement of the 70% of homeless people currently being refused emergency accommodation in the county,’ she insisted at a recent Western Division meeting.

Cllr Towse said she is both ‘concerned and distressed’ by the number of people coming to her who are being refused emergency accommodation, and are now sleeping in their cars.

Cllr Towse said the issue is no longer confined to the cities, or hidden from plain view, she said it is evident throughout West Cork.

The 70% statistic was released on foot of a Freedom of Information request from the Social Democrats leader Holly Cairns. It showed that the council refused 563 people emergency accommodation in 2024.

‘While homeless figures are rising nationally, somehow West Cork figures are very low, but that’s not surprising really when we are refusing so many,’ she added. ‘The real homeless figures are much, much higher than what is measured.’

The councillor said she understood the theory of diverting people straight into permanent housing instead of emergency accommodation but it means people are left sleeping rough in tents and in cars. 

Cllr Towse said she knows one constituent, who is desperate for emergency accommodation but was denied, and is now sometimes sleeping rough, and still hasn’t been assessed for housing support. 

The Social Democrat councillor suggested that people should be eligible for emergency accommodation while they are awaiting assessment for housing support. 

If someone presents with possible mental health issues, or problem drug or alcohol use, or maybe has court appearances coming up, she said these issues can make it difficult for housing officers to offer them a bed in regular emergency accommodation.

‘This accommodation is  usually a guesthouse that is open to the public, which is not at all suitable to their needs and has no support or supervision on site in the interests of anyone’s welfare,’ she concluded.

‘People facing homelessness are the most vulnerable in our society and I cannot accept that we are turning them away,’ said Cllr Towse who believes an STA, a supported temporary accommodation unit, is needed as a matter of urgency. 

Keith Jones, the council’s director of service, housing, asset management and land development, issued a reply which pointed out that the provision of homelessness services in Cork County is managed through the South West Homelessness Regional Group, for which Cork City Council is the lead authority, and of which Cork County Council and Kerry County Council are members, along with other stakeholders including the HSE, TUSLA, Cork Simon among others.

The director of service said the regional homelessness action plan for the South West region 2025-2028 was recently adopted by Cork County Council, and it sets out the framework for delivering homeless services in Cork County and the broader Southwest region over the next three years.

He said this plan provides for an interagency approach, but in the meantime, it is the council’s intention to use Section 10 funding to deliver homelessness services across Cork County through the provision of emergency accommodation. 

As part of this, he said Cork County Council recently opened a supported family hub in Clonakilty to transition families out of homelessness. 

The director said the council’s ‘place finder officer’ engages regularly with those in emergency accommodation to help source properties and provide people with a pathway out of homelessness.

In conclusion, he said the local authority’s housing policy is being designed to respond to government policy and deliver a large proportion of one-bed properties. 

He said these properties are being developed to provide accommodation for single people in need of housing, as well as those in emergency accommodation.’