Homelessness in Co Meath has more than trebled over the past three years. Meath County Council, which dealt with 16 cases during the first quarter of 1998, had to deal with 55 in the first quarter of 2001 and has now adopted a two-year plan to deal with the problem.
Homelessness in the county must now be considered a major problem, according to a report prepared for the council by the County Meath Homeless Forum, which includes representatives from the local authority, North Eastern Health Board, the Garda and the voluntary sector.
More than 50 per cent of the homeless are single people, 30 per cent are lone parents, and less than 20 per cent are couples, with or without children.
Most are locals, but an increasing number are from outside the county - foreign nationals and returning emigrants - with many attracted to Meath because of its proximity to Dublin.
The main causes of the problem have been identified as: inability to pay high rents; alcohol and drug abuse; family violence/marital breakdown; and teenagers evicted by their parents.
The report found no evidence of people sleeping rough on a medium to long-term basis. It claims short-term measures such as bed-and-breakfast accommodation will always be needed for emergency cases but warns that follow-up services must be provided to take people out of the homeless trap.
The council and the North Eastern Health Board are to set up a Homeless Persons Centre in Navan, as most of the homeless in the county tend to end up in the town.
The centre will arrange for emergency accommodation and provide support services to enable its clients to receive medical cards, public health nursing, mental health services, community welfare, social work and counselling.
Councillors have agreed to provide four houses/flats for transient accommodation and a ratio of 1:20 houses in new local authority developments for permanent accommodation.
"Housing is more flexible than establishing a hostel as it could accommodate families, as well as single people and couples", said a council spokesman, Mr Danny McLaughlin.