‘NO STONE UNTURNED’ 

Least I could do was give them shelter, says Cllr who found homeless couple living in van as he furiously slams crisis

• Published: 17:58, 25 Jun 2023
• Updated: 17:58, 25 Jun 2023

A YOUNG homeless couple had to sleep in a councillor’s van as there is no emergency accommodation left in their county.

The pair had been sleeping on a mattress in an underground car park beneath an apartment block Navan, Co Meath, until a local councillor let them stay in his vehicle over the weekend.

They were thrown on the streets after being told by Meath County Council housing officials that the local authority had no emergency accommodation beds available.

The politician did find a bed and breakfast for them to stay at in nearby Trim – but the council then refused to pay for the room.

Now furious independent Meath councillor Alan Lawes has demanded a national review of the emergency accommodation system being run by the local authorities.

He claims the reason over 12,000 people in Ireland are now homeless is because county councils have no sense of urgency and are not doing their job when it comes to finding emergency accommodation.

Cllr Lawes said: “I have spent the last two weeks trying to get accommodation for this young couple. It is scandalous and wrong the way they have been treated.

“I wrote to Meath County Council about their case and then made personal representatives in the council offices last Friday.

“I was told there was no emergency accommodation available.

“Meath County Council, unlike Dublin, does not have an emergency number that people seeking accommodation can call at the weekend.

“I then did what other councillors have done in the past and tried to source beds for them on the condition the council would pay for it.

“I did find a place in Trim which would take them for two nights and we would try to find a more permanent place on Monday. But the council refused to pay and did not give me an explanation.

“I have a van myself, so I drove it over to the car park of the council offices and told the kids they can stay in it.

“I have been staying with them myself the whole weekend in protest at the way they’ve been treated.

“We were later joined by two more homeless people, a man and a young woman who was assaulted on the streets while living rough last week. A female friend of mine came to help look after them.”

The homeless couple have been together for two years. The man is 25 and the woman is 20.

STATE SLAMMED

The man, who is from Navan, has been in and out of homelessness for years. The couple have a child together and the baby is in care.

They made a joint application to Meath Co Council to get housed.

Before their latest move, they had been staying near Navan Rugby Club before they were moved on.

Cllr Lawes said the whole homeless situation is going from bad to worse and there is a complete lack of urgency among county councils like Meath in dealing with it.

He added: “Who in their right mind thinks it is OK to let these two young people live on the streets for two weeks.

“No stone should have been left unturned to find this young couple somewhere to sleep at night.

“With all the money the State has, there should be no homeless people in Ireland. The State should be able to find a place for them.

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“I didn’t mind them staying in my van, it was the least I could do to help them. At least they got some shelter and some food. We are not leaving here until the council finds them a place to sleep.”

Meath Co Council was unavailable for comment.