The mainstream media are getting excited. The real issue, they claim, in the local and European elections is immigration.
Yet the polls also tell us something else: The most important issue concerning people is the housing crisis.
And it is no wonder. We have some of the dearest rents in Europe that can consume nearly half of an average person’s income.
You wait an average of 12 years to get a council house or apartment in Dublin City Council.
And most young people cannot afford to buy a home and so many think of emigrating.
This is a real crisis caused by the policies of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael. The Housing Commission has just produced a damming report about their record.
It says that we need an extra 256,000 homes; that the rent pressure zones are not working; that we need transparency on land prices; and that we need emergency action to build social housing.
But Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have many TDs who are landlords and represent their interests.
This is why they refuse to impose a rant freeze. They refuse to use public land for public and affordable housing. They prefer to pay out €515 million a year to landlords for accommodation as they did last year under the HAP scheme.
No wonder these parties like the fact that working people blame immigrants for the housing crisis – not themselves.
In every European country, the far right do the dirty work of the rich. That is why they are backed by billionaires like Donald Trump. They want us to direct our anger at other working people rather than at the privileged elite.
They try to get into people’s head before they can be challenged. But challenge them, we will.
- Lie: Asylum seekers are getting houses before the Irish*. Truth*: They are not allowed to even go on the housing list.
- Lie: Foreigners are getting houses before the Irish. Truth. There is no preferential treatment for nationality. Everyone is suffering because of the lack of housing. Sometimes councils will not put you on the housing list if you are not working here for at least 12 months.
People are right to be angry. It is a disgrace to hear talk about Ireland’s ‘economic success’ when so many live in overcrowded conditions because their sons and daughters cannot get a house or afford the ridiculous rents.
So, let’s blame those who are really responsible. Let’s evict Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael from as many positions as we can. They have run this country for a hundred years and have made a complete mess. The only party that guarantees that your vote will not be used to prop up the two right-wing parties, is People Before Profit.
That is why we say Vote 1 People Before Profit in the local and European elections.
Come to the Housing Fightback Rally this Saturday, May 25th, 2.30 pm, Custom House, Dublin, to demand real action now.