At a packed meeting in Killiney in Dublin last Thursday local residents voted to launch a campaign to protest against the government’s new housing policy that will see thousands of people thrown off the housing list.
Angry residents agreed to protest at Tanaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and local TD Eamonn Gilmore’s constituency office at 9.30am today.
In a statement, Richard Boyd Barrett TD has expressed utter shock at the Coalition government’s new Social Housing policy, which he said “will effectively do away with Council housing as we know it and will see tens of thousands of housing applicants across the country removed from Council lists.”
Under the new policy local authorities will build no social housing for the foreseeable future and virtually all those currently in private rented accommodation and in receipt of rent allowance will be deemed to be adequately housed and disqualified from Council housing lists.
Deputy Boyd Barrett said the proposals represented yet another obscene bail-out for the developers and banks that had caused the current crisis, where hundreds of millions more would be poured into their coffers rather than coming back to the local authorities in the form of Council rents.
The government’s new Housing Allocations Scheme was presented at a meeting of Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council (DLRCC) on June 12th and voted upon. Only Cllr’s Melisa Halpin and Hugh Lewis of People Before Profit voted to oppose the scheme.
The new housing policy is due to be implemented in all local authorities across the country and will see thousands of families thrown off the housing list.
Under the new government policy, the preferred scheme for providing social housing will be via the leasing by Councils of accommodation from private landlords and developers.
Furthermore, there has also been a significant change of the definition of housing need which will mean that thousands of people currently on the waiting list may be considered to not need housing.
Cllr Melisa Halpin said today: “This new scheme is appalling. The government is effectively doing away with the traditional concept of Council housing and at a stroke disqualifying thousands upon thousands of applicants from Council housing lists.
“There is going to be significant anger when thousands of people waiting years on Council housing lists discover that they are no longer eligible for Council housing. Last week’s meeting and today’s protest are just the first expressions of that anger.”
Cllr Hugh Lewis commented: “All the Labour Councillors in Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown voted in favour of the new scheme on the basis that there is no alternative because Ireland is now under instruction from the IMF. Labour should be standing up to the IMF as it promised before the election and todays protest is a sign of growing anger with the Labour Party.”
(BMcN)
Time and date
CONSTRUCTION DIRECTORY
Latest Construction News
20/11/2024
MDE has been awarded the electrical services contract for the Clondalkin School Development Project in Dublin. Working alongside Cunningham Contracts Ltd., the company will serve as the specialist electrical contractor for the construction of new facilities for Gaelscoil na Camóige, Gaelscoil ...
20/11/2024
In celebration of European Week for Waste Reduction, the Northern Ireland Resources Network (NIRN) has launched an environmental education programme to promote zero-waste principles among young people. Three schools from the ABC Borough—St Francis Primary School in Lurgan, St Patrick's Primary ...
20/11/2024
Work has begun at hospital sites across Northern Ireland as part of preparations to eliminate car parking charges by May 2026. Health and Social Care Trusts are installing the necessary infrastructure for a new traffic management system, following the passing of the Hospital Parking Charges Act by ...
20/11/2024
Fine Gael has accused Sinn Féin of abandoning its commitment to protect consumers from rising energy costs, claiming that the party's policies could lead to increased costs for 2.1 million customers. The criticism comes after Sinn Féin's alternative budget last month proposed retaining the ...
20/11/2024
SDLP Agriculture, Environment, and Rural Affairs Spokesperson Patsy McGlone has urged Minister Andrew Muir to take decisive action to protect the environment, rather than launching additional reviews. The comments came after Minister Muir announced a review into environmental governance during an ...
20/11/2024
Alliance Strangford MLAs Kellie Armstrong and Nick Mathison, along with Alliance East Antrim MLA Danny Donnelly, recently visited the tidal research experiment at Queen's University Marine Laboratory (QML) in Strangford. The project, funded by the Centre for Advanced Sustainable Energy (CASE), is ...
19/11/2024
Phoenix Energy has been awarded an international standards accreditation from the British Standards Institution (BSI) in recognition of its inclusive service approach for customers in vulnerable situations. The certification highlights Phoenix Energy's commitment to providing fair, flexible, and ...
19/11/2024
Seating Matters is investing £3.7 million to enhance and improve its manufacturing facilities in Limavady and L'Derry. The company is aiming to support its bold strategy to triple revenue by 2027. Making the announcement while visiting the company's Limavady site Economy Minister Conor Murphy ...
19/11/2024
SDLP Infrastructure Spokesperson Mark H Durkan has urged the Minister and the Executive to take immediate action to address problems within Northern Ireland Water. Mr Durkan warned that the current state of the wastewater system is creating significant delays for infrastructure projects across ...
19/11/2024
Galway City Council will hold a public information evening on affordable housing on Monday, November 25, 2024, from 4pm to 8pm at the Connacht Hotel, Old Dublin Road, Galway. The event will provide an opportunity for the public to learn about how affordable housing operates. Council staff will be ...