VIEW, Issue 35, 2016
An Irish Housing Network protest in Dublin and (below) spokesperson Seamus Farrell
www.viewdigital.org
Page 27
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The Irish state has the capacity to provide housing. It has instead pushed the most drastic Right-wing shift in housing policy in the history of the state and at a time of unprecedented need Community resources and supports to match the provision of housing.
making our demands heard through our actions to help those in housing crisis and we be asking parties and candidates to publically support our actions from our support groups and food provision to our direct action.
No, as mentioned already, they have deeply compounded the existing problems, and are in fact driving up homelessness with their policy decisions. They are pushing full privatisation of the housing sector. Even if we were not ideologically opposed, this simply cannot pragmatically work. The market cannot provide enough well planned and supported housing to meet need.
What type of supply is needed – private housing, social housing or both?
Has the current coalition government done enough to address the issue of homelessness?
Will you be making any demands of political parties in the February 26 general election?
We are hoping to ask candidates and parties to sign up to an election pledge based on our demands. Otherwise we will
We fundamentally have an affordability crisis, which is being spun as a general supply crisis. We need affordable supply. So predominately social housing is what is needed.
What sort of support are you getting from the public?
Massive support from the public. The Bolt Hostel support was wide ranging, our anti-poverty soup runs and support groups get huge support too. There is a certain class divide in how active the support is.
Large parts of Ireland have been scared by the austerity and housing issues are very immediate, these are predominantly working class communities. They very actively support us. More comfortable sectors, who are seeing some stability in the last year, their support is more passive. Are you optimistic or pessimistic about the future of housing needs?
I don’t think the housing crisis is going away; in many ways it is a permanent crisis for large sways of Irish society. The government and establishment are aggressively moving the opposite way from what’s needed: stable, affordable housing based on need. It is going to be a long struggle, but we are ever increasingly ready for it. www.facebook.com/irishhousingnetwork