Longford County Council are to call on the Department of Housing to fund a new local emergency accommodation hostel as a matter of urgency.
At a meeting of the council yesterday afternoon, Councillor Uremu Adejinmi put forward the motion to contact the Minister for Housing, Darragh O'Brien, and request funds to develop the homelessness service.
It received widespread support from fellow councillors, with several highlighting the lack of availability of emergency accommodation locally.
In a recent statement to Shannonside FM news, the local authority confirmed that there no vacancies at the two hostels used by Longford County Council.
The council stated that they do not retain beds with private providers such as B&B's or hotels.
Speaking after the meeting yesterday, Councillor Adejinmi stated that local families in need were being sent to accommodation in Mullingar, which itself was full.
The Fianna Fail representative believes sending families out of the county for support can be damaging to those who are in school or working locally.
The practicalities of this facility being located outside other counties is just not good enough for families , especially for families in crisis.
They need as much stability as possible while they're going through a difficult period, so we need to support the families, the local authority needs to support the families as best we can to maintain a balance, particularly for the children.
