Opposition TDs and unions to ‘Raise the Roof’ in Cork on Saturday

Thousands of people are expected to gather at lunchtime on Saturday in Cork city centre for a cross-party, trade union-led rally to protest against the housing crisis.

The ‘Raise the Roof’ rally, which is being organised by a coalition of trade unions and left wing parties including Sinn Féin, Labour, the Social Democrats, Solidarity/People Before Profit, and the Workers’ Party, will take place at 2pm at the National Monument on the Grand Parade.

Speaking to The Echo in Connolly Hall on Monday, Adrian Kane, divisional organiser with Siptu, said ‘Raise the Roof’ was being organised because the housing crisis was now more than a decade old, with no sign of resolution.

“The Commission on Housing recommended that public housing should be at least 20% and it’s now down to 10%, which is half what it was 30 years ago."

Public housing, he said, was “what we did in the past, that’s what we did well, and it’s the only way we’re going to resolve this, rather than the emphasis at the moment in, essentially, a laissez faire approach in allowing the market to resolve this issue, which it has, quite clearly, failed to do.” Thomas Gould, Sinn Féin TD for Cork North Central, said ‘Raise the Roof’ was about delivering affordable housing and an end to the housing crisis.

“This protest on Saturday is a family-friendly even, we’re encouraging people to come along, it’s going to be a positive event, we’re working on it together, and anyone who has an issue with housing, they need to come along and show their support, because the only way to get the Government to change their policies is to put political pressure on them,” he said.

Pádraig Rice, Social Democrats TD for Cork South Central, said the housing crisis had created record levels of homelessness, “skyrocketing rents” and a stretching to breaking point of the definition of affordable homes.

“The Government say they’ve turned a corner, but they’ve turned so many corners they’re going around in circles,” he said.

Green Party city councillor Oliver Moran said a change was needed away from a mindset which saw housing as something delivered for profit.

“Most ordinary people see a house as a home, a place they raise their children, a place close to work, close to schools, that’s what we should be delivering, not properties for somebody else’s profit,” Mr Moran said.

Eoghan Kenny, Labour Party TD for Cork North Central, said the worsening of the situation over the past decade was “a real failure of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael”, which had, in effect, been in government through that time.

“Saturday’s rally is about making our voices heard and standing up for the ordinary citizen who just can’t get access to a house."

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire, Sinn Féin TD for Cork South Central, said Government tended to talk about housing as something beyond resolution, and beyond its control.

“The point that we are making is this isn’t some abstract event, this is consistently getting worse because of Government policies, and if they continue on this course it will continue to get worse,” he said.

A Dáil motion is to be put forward this evening during Sinn Féin’s private members time and is supported by Labour, the Social Democrats, People Before Profit, and the Green Party.

It identifies five key areas of action that Sinn Féin housing spokesperson Eoin Ó Broin said the housing minister should implement immediately:

• Increase and accelerate delivery of social and affordable homes;

• Protect private renters through freezing and cutting rents, with no changes to rent pressure zones (RPZs);

• Stronger taxes on vacancy and dereliction and greater use of compulsory purchase orders;

• Restore and increase funding for homeless prevention schemes such as tenant in situ and Housing First;

• An emergency response to rising homelessness including re-introducing ban on no-fault evictions.

A ‘Raise the Roof’ protest is set to be held outside Leinster House to coincide with the motion being debated in the Dáil.