In a bid to tackle homelessness in Co Clare, a new office is to be opened in March.
Plans are currently being finalised to open a Homeless Action Team Office in Ennis in the coming months, The Clare Herald can reveal.
This will be a single point of contact where State agencies including the Local Authority, the Department of Social Protection and the HSE will provide services, advice and support to persons experiencing homelessness.
A spokesperson for the Council told The Clare Herald “Rather than the provision of a homeless shelter and in line with Government policy, Clare County Council is focussing on providing ‘housing-led’ accommodation projects. Such projects involve the acquisition of suitable residential units throughout County Clare which will again be advanced during 2017.
“Clare County Council is constantly investigating innovative options for the provision of homeless accommodation. Throughout 2017 and in conjunction with the Regional Homelessness Forum homeless accommodation, options will be advanced on the basis of the ‘housing-led’ principle rather than an emergency shelter basis”.
On top of this, an estimated €10.8 million will be spent on the construction of forty seven housing units throughout the county in the next two years.