COPE Galway is calling on the Government to increase spending in the areas of housing and social protection and to protect the range of public and community services from further funding cuts in Budget 2014.
In their Pre-Budget Submission launched this week, COPE Galway are calling on Government to make available an additional €50m capital allocation for social housing in Budget 2014, and for a proportion of this to be ring fenced specifically for housing for people who are longterm
homeless. They also ask that Local Housing Authorities be adequately resourced to compete in the private rented market to secure housing stock through the Rental
Accommodation Scheme and Long Term Leasing initiative, so as to begin to tackle the ever growing social housing waiting lists.
‘There are over 3,000 households on the social housing waiting list for Galway City alone’ said Martin O’Connor of COPE Galway. ‘It won’t be possible to tackle this list and support people into homes without significant capital investment, and City Council being in a position to
compete in the private market to secure housing under RAS and Long term leasing’.
Mr O’Connor went on to claim that without such investment the Government’s commitment in its Homelessness Policy Statement published in February of this year to end long term homelessness and to adopt a housing led approach to tacking the issue cannot be realised.
COPE Galway in their submission also call for vital public services such as health and housing to be protected from further cuts and to be adequately resourced so as to be in a position to respond to the increasing levels of demand they are experiencing. ‘COPE Galway homeless
services saw a 17 PER increase in the numbers provided with emergency accommodation in 2012 while our Domestic Violence Services saw 20% more women and children seeking assistance in the same period’ explained Mr O’Connor. ‘This is similar to the experience across a range of public and community services, all of whom are experiencing an increase in demand while at the same time have had funding and resource reductions’.
The vital role of the Department of Social Protection in protecting individuals and families against financial hardship is highlighted in COPE Galway’s submission which seeks a €5 perweek increase in basic social welfare rates, the payment of full rate Job Seekers Allowance to under 25s who are homeless, and no further reductions or changes to be made to payments, directed towards children and families including Child Benefit.
