Homeless families a reality in Donegal, municipal district meeting hears

The harsh reality of the ongoing housing crisis is that families in the Municipal District (MD) of Donegal are being forced into homelessness.

That is according to a number of councillors in the MD who are calling for a strategy to be put in place to support those in an emergency situation.

At the March meeting of Donegal MD, Cllr Michael McMahon (SF) said: “We have no emergency accommodation in this MD.

“It is very serious that children are having to go onto the street in this county.

“And there are a number of families that are on the verge of having to be out on the street.”

Cllr McMahon asked that the matter be added to the agenda of a proposed housing workshop.

Cllr Niamh Kennedy (Ind) said she believed the housing list did not reflect the real need for housing in the county, because many people did not realise they were entitled to go on the list.

“There are 27 families in Killybegs alone who are waiting on a house,” said Cllr Kennedy.

“And there are a lot of people who are not on that list that should be. 

“There are more and more people coming into the office now saying, ‘I can’t afford a house.’

“I have been inundated with people from all over the county, people who are entitled to go onto the housing list but don’t know it. It is a huge issue.”

“We do have families in this MD that are homeless. I never thought we would see the day, but here we are.”

Area Manager of Donegal MD Pauric Sheerin, who has responsibility for housing, acknowledged that there was no council-owned emergency accommodation in the MD.

“Clients source that themselves or we source it,” he said. “We are linking with a number of approved suppliers.It is a bit ad hoc.

“Other than the Colmcille Hostel in Letterkenny where there is a specific service agreement with Donegal County Council, there is nowhere else.

“The hostel is always at capacity and our MD is probably the most removed from Letterkenny so it is not always feasible to send someone there.”Mr Sheerin agreed to include the matter on the agenda for the upcoming workshop.