Results 181-200 of 4,739 for speaker:Thomas Gould

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Update on Homelessness: Discussion (5 Mar 2024)

Thomas Gould: There was a facility in Cork specifically for survivors of institutional abuse. Unfortunately, that is also being used now to accommodate people in emergency accommodation. That was specifically for people who were victims of institutional abuse. Is it possible that that would be returned to that category of person? Does the Dublin Region Homeless Executive have a similar facility or...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Update on Homelessness: Discussion (5 Mar 2024)

Thomas Gould: What I would ask is that for those who were victims of institutional abuse, places would remain open for them. Lastly, in relation to people in recovery, I am being told - Ms Hayes touched on it earlier - that people who come out of treatment who were in recovery because of things they have done in the past are failing to get access to homeless emergency accommodation. What is the policy in...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Update on Homelessness: Discussion (5 Mar 2024)

Thomas Gould: The committee might come back to it later on.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Update on Homelessness: Discussion (5 Mar 2024)

Thomas Gould: I want to go back to Cork City Council and the DRHE with regard to people in recovery. I am concerned that issues in the past prevent from accessing emergency accommodation people who come out of treatment and are in recovery. Is this something the witnesses are looking at?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Update on Homelessness: Discussion (5 Mar 2024)

Thomas Gould: I thank Ms O’Brien. Mr. Ó Donnabháin mentioned there were 103 homeless families in the Cork and Kerry region, with 55 of them in Cork. This means there are 48 homeless families in Kerry. Is this correct? Are all of the homeless families in Cork included in the 55?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Update on Homelessness: Discussion (5 Mar 2024)

Thomas Gould: There are 48 between Cork county and Kerry.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Update on Homelessness: Discussion (5 Mar 2024)

Thomas Gould: I was contacted by two schoolteachers who said they were very concerned about pupils who are very good in school but whom they have seen go backwards because their families have entered emergency accommodation. One of the teachers asked me what is being done and whether Cork City Council is looking to keep families as close to their communities and schools as possible. Whether it is...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Update on Homelessness: Discussion (5 Mar 2024)

Thomas Gould: What about Dublin?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Update on Homelessness: Discussion (5 Mar 2024)

Thomas Gould: I speak to families who have children with special needs or additional needs. For them to commute long distances, and for any child to commute a long distance, can be very distressing. We speak about trauma. The witnesses spoke about having a trauma-informed approach when dealing with families and people entering homelessness. Is this something they are building on? I know from myself...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Update on Homelessness: Discussion (5 Mar 2024)

Thomas Gould: How many does Cork City Council have available now? Is there a figure it tries to get each month?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Update on Homelessness: Discussion (5 Mar 2024)

Thomas Gould: I want to go back to the repair and lease scheme. It has gone from €60,000 to €80,000. The numbers in Cork are quite small. Is this because it is more expensive in Cork to repair and lease these properties? Excellent work was done in Waterford and the people there should be commended on it. Why has this not been done in Cork? Is it because Cork is more expensive? What is...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Update on Homelessness: Discussion (5 Mar 2024)

Thomas Gould: I have a question on Dublin Region Homeless Executive, the work it does and how it is co-ordinated. I would love to see co-ordination like that in Munster, with Cork as the lead, perhaps, and Limerick and Waterford and all the other counties.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Update on Homelessness: Discussion (5 Mar 2024)

Thomas Gould: I thank everyone for being here today. I have limited time so I will try to be brief. Mr. Moynihan gave a figure of 176 age-friendly homes having been delivered in 2023. That seems a shockingly low figure after listening to the statistics that he and Ms Loughran have given to us. What should the target for delivery be, in Mr. Moynihan's opinion?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Update on Homelessness: Discussion (5 Mar 2024)

Thomas Gould: I have only been a TD for four years but I was a councillor before that, since 2009. Up until about three years ago, I had never seen an older person come to me for social housing. People had come to me to downsize or to rightsize to a single bedroom unit. I am dealing with a couple, a 62-year-old and a 64-year-old. He is 64. He said to me, "Tommy, I am going to be retired." He said the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Update on Homelessness: Discussion (5 Mar 2024)

Thomas Gould: That is a very important point. Two weeks ago, I talked to a social worker who mentioned the trauma children are experiencing through becoming homeless. While it is great there is emergency accommodation where families can be put, he said the trauma affecting children going into it, including anxiety and depression, is just shocking. Cork Simon does great work. I commend all the groups on...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Update on Homelessness: Discussion (5 Mar 2024)

Thomas Gould: I have a few questions for the representatives of Cork Simon Community. Its opening statement referred to the fact that, tragically, 17 people died in emergency accommodation last year in Cork.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Update on Homelessness: Discussion (5 Mar 2024)

Thomas Gould: I thank Dr. Kavanagh for that response. Representatives of Cork City Council earlier gave a figure of eight people who tragically died in emergency accommodation. Are these eight people represented in the 17 people referred to by Cork Simon or are these an additional eight deaths?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Update on Homelessness: Discussion (5 Mar 2024)

Thomas Gould: That is what I was leading into. On the figures, do we know how many people died last year in Cork city either in emergency accommodation or in accommodation that Cork Simon was providing? Cork Simon Community said the figure was 17 people, while Cork City Council said it was eight. I know there is probably a crossover in the figures.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Update on Homelessness: Discussion (5 Mar 2024)

Thomas Gould: There is a stark figure of 15 people now sleeping rough every night in Cork city. This increased from six the previous year. What has happened? What has gone wrong that there has been such a dramatic increase in rough sleepers in Cork city?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Update on Homelessness: Discussion (5 Mar 2024)

Thomas Gould: Cork City has an outreach worker going out at night. Cork Simon Community probably also has outreach workers.