There is no need for anyone to sleep rough in Kerry and a range of services are in place, a senior county council officer said yesterday, writes .
The number of those seeking homeless shelters has risen in the past year or so, according to figures from the homeless information unit in Tralee.
Of about 300 people who needed emergency accommodation from the HSE and the council, 125 were new to the services.
There was an overall increase of about 50 on the previous year. Various nationalities were presenting, John Breen, housing director with the council, said.
A small number of locals whose social welfare entitlements had failed had also been forced to sleep in their cars, according to local reports.
