Homeless Co Kildare children and mother are among a long list for housing

Young children along with their mother are now homeless in Naas, with St Vincent de Paul calling  for urgent action from the Government.

Currently the children along with their mother are residing in a hostel.

Speaking to KildareNow, Peter O'Byrne, a volunteer for St Vincent de Paul in Co Kildare, is deeply concerned about the 'scale' of homelessness.

The waiting list for housing in the county is now at an all time high, according to Mr O'Byrne.

Landlords are increasingly refusing the Housing Assistance Payment( HAP), says Mr O'Byrne. The HAP scheme aims to allow all social housing supports to be accessed through one body - the local authority - and to enable people to take up full-time employment and keep their housing support.

Under the scheme, local authorities pay landlords directly. The rent being charged for the accommodation must be within the limits set down for the household type in that local authority’s area. Tenants pay a weekly HAP rent contribution to the local authority, based on their income and ability to pay.

However, without HAP, many people are now finding themselves homeless.

He said: "More housing is needed. The situation is very bad at the moment. There are a lot of people homeless in Naas, people sleeping rough, they are sleeping in unoccupied buildings around the town."