Frustrating to be told ‘It is not our job’ when trying to get help - councillor

A councillor said he found it upsetting and frustrating not being able to speak to someone in the HSE who would help in difficult personal situations. 

Cllr Michael McMahon (SF) said there were more and more people in the local community living in dire conditions or dealing with other serious and urgent problems.

Addressing the April meeting of the Municipal District (MD) of Donegal, he said: “I find it disturbing that when you ring the HSE they are not fit to help in any way.  

“They send you to another agency which sends you somewhere else.”

Cllr McMahon commended area manager of Donegal MD, Pauric Sheerin and the Community Welfare Officer for their help with recent cases. 

But he added: “I find it very hard that when I ring the HSE they will tell you it is not their job.

“Whose job is it?

“As elected representatives we need to look out for people who are in dire straits and maybe suffering from health and mental health problems because of the pandemic.”

The councillor said that he had also spoken to gardaí.

“No more than myself, they are not trained in it and so also look to the HSE,” he said. 

“I want a person from the HSE to come to the chamber and explain to us how we go about dealing with these situations because they are becoming very frequent.”

Cllr McMahon also requested that a letter go to the HSE asking: “What can they do? What is their job? Who do we go to?”

He continued: “If any of these things happen from Friday to Sunday it is a problem because we can get no help. 

“If it is Monday to Friday we are sent from one person to the next. We hear this thing about working together. Let’s put it into practice. 

“I am very annoyed and very upset.”

Domestic Violence

Cllr Niamh Kennedy (Ind) supported the request, saying: “I have noticed particularly in the last number of weeks people are very disturbed because they have no accommodation for domestic violence. 

“I had a situation where I had to ring the domestic violence office and they had no place available, no place of refuge. 

“So much more pressure has come on the system right now because of Ukraine. We don’t seem to have the capacity. 

“I have a lot of women coming and saying they have to leave the home; they are leaving with children and have nowhere to go.”

Difficult Situations

Cathaoirleach of Donegal MD, Cllr Barry Sweeny (FG) also expressed his concerns. 

“These are problems that we are encountering on a daily basis, situations that are sad, shocking and difficult for people to come to a public representative with,” he said. 

“They need us to be able to solve their problem, to work with the HSE, domestic violence services, look at living conditions in private rented accommodation. 

“There are people who are working parents who have to leave their rented accommodation due to landlords selling up. That seems to be an increasing thing that is causing huge problems. 

“People are not able to move on because of a lack of options.”

Cllr Sweeny highlighted the new challenges caused by the rising cost of living.

“People are working and trying to make a living and so they don’t get on the housing list,” he said. “I think the income limit for the housing list should be looked at considering the cost of living now.

“There are huge problems coming down the line in terms of the influx of Ukrainian refugees. “We are a great nation holding out the hand of friendship in times of need. We only have to turn on the tv to see how lucky we are compared to what the people of Ukraine are going through. But the challenges are great. Housing is one of the main issues.”
Cllr Sweeny said he was concerned about an anti-Ukrainian sentiment creeping in. 

“You see it in comments on social media,” he said.

“It is a difficult situation; Irish people on housing waiting lists, Irish people waiting on medical cards. 

“You can understand why there is discomfort. It is something we have to deal with. We have to do our best to try and find the right balance and be creative in how we deal with the challenges.”

Complex

In regard to getting a response from the HSE, Pauric Sheerin said that each case was different and there were often complex situations in the background.

He stressed that the council was the housing authority and the HSE was the health authority, and many cases required different levels and types of intervention. Sometimes the housing need could be the biggest issue, sometimes it was a mental health issue, or a case of addiction or substance abuse. 

There were also times when the local authority had to reach out to other agencies to see what was in place for the family already.  

“You have to try and navigate through the services,” he said. 

Mr Sheerin acknowledged that it was frustrating for elected members. 

“We do our best to try and manage each case,” he said. “But the approach we see is that each family could be locked in with different people.”

Cllr McMahon again expressed his frustration at not being able to get help in urgent and difficult situations.

“You are sent from A to B to C to D and then you are back to A to work with your own skills,” he said. 

“What I want is that when I phone the HSE someone can transfer me to the person who can help. It is about getting a road map. 

“When I hear ‘it is not our job’ I get upset and frustrated. 

“It is everybody’s job to look out for people.”

Mr Sheerin agreed, saying: “It is the navigating in who we should be talking to in each particular case that is challenging.”