Members of Fermanagh and Omagh District Council have supported a call to seek an update from agencies involved in addressing concerns over homelessness and begging.
Sinn Fein Councillor Barry McElduff explained the issue has been noted in Omagh, and proposed the Council write to the Housing Executive and PSNI “who have been identified as the most relevant statutory agencies and are investigating the issue of homelessness and, in some cases, apparent homelessness in Omagh, and the associated matter of people begging or apparently begging for money outside businesses and churches”.
He added: “I want to be very sensitive about this issue, but I think it would be appropriate for our local government authority to ask the Housing Executive and the PSNI for a formal update on this matter, because it is causing great anxiety on the part of the local community.”
Seconding this, party colleague Councillor Anne-Marie Fitzgerald said: “It is a very sensitive topic, and I know there’s been a lot of work going around this over the past six weeks.
“We just need a bit more clarity, because it’s the time of year when peoples’ thoughts and prayers are with the most vulnerable.”
The proposal passed unanimously.
