Press Release- Richard Boyd Barrett TD, People Before Profit
18/09/2018
Immediate Release
Housing protests only way to break Fine Gael government from failed policy of hoping speculators and landlords can solve housing crisis.
Only emergency programme to build public and affordable housing, not paramilitary policing tactics will solve housing emergency.
At Leaders Questions today Richard Boyd Barrett told Taoiseach Leo Varadkar that recent Take Back the City protests and occupations and planned national housing demonstration at the Dáil on October 3rd were the result of the total failure of government policy to resolve the daily worsening housing crisis.
Deputy Boyd Barrett said, government policy for 7 years has been to champion interests of property speculators, landlords and vulture funds and that this policy was continued in government plans such as Land Development Agency, Local Infrastructure Housing Activation Fund and Housing Building Finance Agency.
Deputy Boyd Barrett said the use of paramilitary style policing tactics, use of balaclavas leading to the hospitalisation of a number of peaceful protesters was very sinister.
Deputy Boyd Barrett said the protesters were not protesting for the sake of it but were driven by intense frustration at the failure of government policy to stem the deepening crisis and a clear set of demands which include:
- An emergency programme to build public housing on public land
- Stop selling public land to private developers
- Stop land and property hoarding by the council’s using powers to take over hoarded property
- Stop economic evictions into homelessness
- Establish a constitutional right to secure and affordable housing
Richard Boyd Barrett said: “Taoiseach, on Oct 3rd the National Housing and Homeless Coalition, Irish Congress of Trade Unions, Housing NGO’s, Take Back the City and a range of opposition parties will be taking to the streets for a major demonstration at the Dáil – calling for emergency measures to deal with the housing crisis. This follows the magnificent protests of Take Back the City occupying empty buildings in Dublin City and demanding more robust measures to bring empty properties that could be used to house people into use.
“Let’s be clear Taoiseach, these protests are not protests for the sake of protests but they are driven by clear demands to end the madness of relying on speculators and landlords to solve a housing crisis that you and they created.
“The Land Development Agency is just the latest in a long line of failed policies from NAMA, section 110 tax breaks, LIHAF, HBFI, which all involve handing billions worth of land property and public cash, to speculators and developers to make obscene fortunes while the housing crisis just gets worse and worse and worse.
“Taoiseach, don’t you think that rather than using paramilitary style policing against peaceful protesters you should recognise that your policies are failing and listen to the demands of the protesters, and publicly call for the spurious charges levelled at entirely peaceful housing protesters to be dropped.”
Ends