Video: Donegal rural homeless seeking refuge in Derry, claims Pringle

Official homeless statistics are not reflective of the scale of the problem in the county, according to Independent T.D. Thomas Pringle.

“The official figure for the number of people homeless in Donegal, as documented by the Department [of Housing, Planning and Local Government], is 12. That figure is incorrect. Homeless shelters in Donegal are full to capacity, and that amounts to at least 20 adults in one shelter I know,” he remarked.

Addressing the problem in the Dáil, Deputy Pringle said there were flaws in how the Pathway Accommodation and Support System (PASS), which is used to monitor homelessness and provide support, is operated.

The system only operates during office hours in Donegal, he claimed, and this meant people were not getting the assistance they needed.

“Homelessness is only visible between the hours of 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. while the council doors remain open.

“Help switches off at 5 p.m. For example, a woman fleeing domestic violence in the middle of the night cannot be registered because there is no out-of-hours PASS system in Donegal,” he said.

This is having a knock-on effect in Derry, Deputy Pringle suggested. More and more homeless people from Donegal are travelling to the city to access services.

“In this crisis a system such as PASS should not become a closed user group to which only a select few individuals have access.

“Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are not automatically contacted to deal with an individual, as is the case in Galway, Cork and Dublin, so people do not get the wrap-around supports they need.

“People are going to Derry where they will get help to a certain extent. The Minister must ensure that resources go where they are needed,” he said.

The Donegal T.D. said rural homelessness in the North West was being underreported generally.

“There is a narrow definition of what homelessness means in Donegal. Anyone in sheltered accommodation, temporary accommodation or couch surfing is not considered homeless and, as is happening to a family in Letterkenny this week, a family that does not have habitual residency status cannot be registered as homeless.

“We also do not have an accurate estimate of the number of people with mental health issues leaving mental health services who end up homeless. If we do not have the numbers, we will not have a solution,” he said.

Independent T.D. Thomas Pringle has said homeless people in Donegal are seeking refuge in Derry.