Scheme to assist homeless stalled over lack of funds

PLANS to prevent prisons being used as a “dumping ground” for homeless people have been shelved because of a lack of resources, according to one of the country’s leading unions.

Chairperson of the Probation and Welfare Officers Board of IMPACT, Brian Horgan, said a Government strategy aimed at cutting the level of crime committed by homeless people is failing because no money has been provided to hire extra staff to implement it.

The Homeless Preventative Strategy was launched in February 2002 as part of the Government's three-year plan to tackle this growing problem. It brought together the Departments of the Environment, Justice, Education, and Health and Children, proposing new measures to prevent homelessness among offenders, those leaving mental health facilities and young people leaving care.