The Labour Party's local authority member for Galway City East said her party has proposed six policy solutions to introduce immediate and longer-term remedies for this national emergency, which she has first-hand experience of in her local electoral area.
"In Galway, we are seeing families pushed to the brink. Government cannot keep ignoring this crisis. There is no acceptable level of homelessness," she said.
An update from the Department of Housing last week shows there are 5,145 children homeless across the State, among 2,391 families in emergency accommodation. Overall, there were 16,353 people homeless at the end of August, up from 16,058 in July.
"That is the equivalent of 220 school classes of children [homeless]. Imagine the impact on communities like Galway where families are already stretched to breaking point?
"Back in 2021, [former minister for housing, Darragh O'Brien] signed the Lisbon Declaration on Ending Homelessness by 2030. Yet the Government is not even pretending to meet that commitment. Families in Galway cannot wait until 2030 for action. They need solutions today."
Councillor Ogbu highlighted a six-point plan from the Labour Party designed to stem the crisis: restore tenant-in-situ funding; provide pilot housing models for vulnerable groups; fully implement the Youth Homelessness Strategy; progress Labour's Homeless Families Bill; raise HAP limits, and increase housing supply.
"These are common-sense measures that would make an immediate difference for families here in Galway," she said. "I am calling on Government to act. No child should be without a home. Homelessness must be treated as the national emergency it is."
