Obtaining a place to live is one of the biggest obstacles facing single parent families in Galway.
Bernie Nicholson and her two children have been living with her parents for the past two years. She is one of a thousand people on the council housing list in Galway. She has been told she could be waiting five years for a home. Majella Dillon waited three years for a council house. She believes single parents receive a lot of prejudice.
Traveller Margaret Maughan is living in temporary accommodation. She cannot get a house to rent and says she could never afford to buy one. Since returning from England a year ago, she has been seeking private accommodation. In her experience, having children makes it more difficult to get accommodation in Galway.
I've had no success whatsoever because I'm a Travelling lady I've four kids and the discrimination out there is dreadful.
While there is criticism of the slow progress being made in building council houses, Assistant Town Clerk at Galway City Council, Ciarán Hayes, points out that 1,000 council houses will be provided over the next two years. He thinks this will significantly eat into housing waiting lists.
Social worker Chris Delaney is on the list for an affordable housing scheme through which a home will cost £75,000. She is part of the generation that cannot afford to own their own house.
There's a lot of people in my situation, I suppose we're like the new poor.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 16 January 2001. The reporter is Jim Fahy.
