Forty homeless people have died in the Dublin region so far this year. Most of these deaths were avoidable but they are a stark testimony to the rule of FG and FF which are directly responsible for increasing the number of homeless on our streets.
Years ago, people associated the sight of people sleeping in doorways as something one would expect to see in a city like New York. But not Dublin.
This government has, however, made homelessness appear normal.
Yet the number of homeless who have died premature deaths has increased. In 2018, for example, 25 deaths occurred among the homeless. But by the end of this year, it is, tragically, likely to be double that.
The Simon Community says that ‘over the past decade structural causes have been the driving force behind the massive increase in homelessness in Ireland’ By structural causes, they mean the ‘lack of social and affordable housing, issues in the private rental market, income poverty, unemployment and discrimination’.
This government is directly responsible for the lack of social and affordable homes. It takes an average of 12 years on the housing list before getting a council house or flat in Dublin.
This government has also refused to introduce strict rent controls. It has deliberately created loopholes for landlords to push up rents on flimsy excuses.
On top of that, FF and FG moved quickly to remove the ban on evictions. Despite repeated efforts by People Before Profit, they have voted down efforts to restore this ban even though we are in the midst of a housing emergency.
Some of the homeless are affected by deep personal problems in their lives. But none of this explains the dramatic rise in homelessness that has occurred during this government – and the deaths that go with it.
It is time to get them out.
