‘I shouldn’t have to protest to get someone off the street and into emergency accommodation’ - Lawes

A Navan councillor who held a protest at Meath County Council's headquarters at Buvinda House in support of a woman living rough in Navan, said he should not have had to go to such lengths to have her accommodated.

At a meeting of Navan Municipal Council last week, Cllr Alan Lawes highlighted the case of a woman who was sleeping under a tarpaulin in the car park opposite the fire station in Navan,

"I made representations for her eleven times, but nothing was being done for her. Protesting like that is not something I wanted to do, but there was no other option," he said.

"She was sleeping out in the cold. She is a foreign national and doesn't speak English, so there were difficulties making representations".

Cllr Lawes explained that he worked with an interpreter. "The interpreter came to me and was very concerned for this woman who was suicidal and couldn't see any light at the end of the tunnel. I brought this to attention of Meath County Council. .

"I repeatedly asked Meath Co Council to engage with me because bringing this lady in to do an assessment when she didn't speak Engish was nonsensical. I asked the council ring me, to email me, I begged them for help," he said.

A group Cllr Lawes works with, paid for six night B&B for the woman in Navan.

"I was forced into situation where I had to protest. I refused to leave building unless she was accommodated.

"The next morning she was accommodated. Why did I have to do that? I am disgusted that this is the way we treated this homeless lady in 2026. Imagine if she didn't have a councillor working for her, where she would be. She'd still be in the ditch and she shouldn't be in that situation."

A spokesperson for Meath County Council said they could not comment on individual cases.