Town to house homeless people in private hostel

AT LEAST 10 to 12 people are homeless in Killarney, it has been claimed.

The town council has received approval from the Department of the Environment to block book ten beds in the privately owned Railway Hostel, Killarney, to accommodate homeless persons.

A sum of €60,000 has been set aside for the purpose in the 2007 budget.

Town clerk Michael O’Leary, however, said this was not seen as a long-term solution and it was part of a Kerry County Council plan to provide a hostel for the homeless in Killarney.

The annual budget meeting of the town council heard the council was providing €34,000 towards the cost of running a Tralee-based information centre for the homeless in Kerry.

But Independent Cllr Michael Courtney was strongly critical of paying such a sum which, he claimed, went entirely towards administration costs.

“Spending this money on administration is crazy. It’s just propping up jobs,” he said.

“I’d rather see the money being spent in a practical way on the ground. More money should be going into hostels rather than administration.”

Independent Cllr Donal Grady, saying between 10 and 12 people were homeless in Killarney, called for the situation to be treated urgently.

The meeting also heard that Killarney had 482 qualified applicants on its housing list.

Work is expected to start on a new, 60-house scheme next March. It also hoped to obtain a grant from the Dept of the Environment for a programme to enhance roads, footpaths and landscaping in the Ballyspillane estate.

Commercial rate-payers in Killarney will next pay a rate of €67.78, a 3.5% increase on the current year’s rates.

There will be no increases in parking charges in 2007. The charges are expected to yield €955,000.