Cork Views: Stand with me and protest on housing issue

Housing is a human right.

We will take to the streets of Cork on October 4 to say loud and clear that we do not accept the current situation where children grow up in hotels and young people board planes for a chance at independence.

I believe that better is possible. I believe that housing is not a luxury and that stable, affordable homes should be within reach of every single person and family on this island.

I believe that the right to housing supersedes the right of vulture funds to profit and of land hoarders to speculate.

I believe that a good day’s work should earn a good day’s pay and that no-one in this state should go to bed hungry.

I believe that the warmth of the people should come before the profits of the gas and electricity companies.

When mothers and fathers come into my office and they tell me their children don’t know where they’ll be sleeping this Christmas, I truly believe that solutions are possible.

I would not stay in this work if I didn’t believe that a future government could deliver safe, secure, and affordable accommodation for these families.

When young people talk to me about their future abroad and their friends who have already left, I tell them that we are fighting for their future on this island.

I tell them their future is here and they need to fight for it.

When older people tell me they are tired - they have fought for their pensions, for their water, for their rights - I tell them that it has never been more important.

I tell them that their fight is our fight and together we have a chance at something different. Something better.

What is clear is that the failings in this do not lie at the feet of the individuals or the local authorities.

It is failed government policy that has caused this.

This is a crisis made by men in suits and boardrooms, but it is clear that it will only be solved by ordinary people on the streets standing against these policies.

We are angry that we have been let down so badly but our anger is our motivation.

We are seeing now a coming together of political parties and trade unions.

We are seeing left-wing politics at its best - united for the ordinary person, putting our shared vision above our differences, and building a movement that will dismantle a century of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael establishment politics.

This is different. It is Mary Lou McDonald hand in hand with Catherine Connolly and the united opposition. It is trade unions that fight for workers in their workplace taking the fight for homes to our streets. It is unity above politics, and it is accepting that this is an emergency.

That is why we need change.

We need next week’s Budget to be one that delivers for families and workers. It needs to deliver for carers and people with disabilities, for pensioners and for housing.

It cannot just provide less of the same - no energy credits, increased student fees, and nothing that will see the change needed in housing.

We have a chance to change this Budget.

They say that a day is a long time in politics. October 4 is three days before it is delivered. A loud, clear message on the streets of Cork can force the hand of governments.

We have seen the power of the Rebel Roar in the Pairc, now we need it on the Grand Parade.

Raise the Roof is about more than fighting for housing - it is about our future. Our marches are fun, they are filled with hope.

We recognise that the housing crisis traumatises children and families, we are determined that the fight against it won’t.

We are asking you to stand with us, sing with us, chant with us. We are asking you to join with us.

I am proud to join Raise the Roof as an Irish Republican.

For more than a century now, Irish Republicans have fought to see the ideas and principles of the first Dáil implemented.

In 1919, when the brave leaders entered the First Dáil at a time of war and fear, they did so not because they wanted power or fame. They put their lives on the line because they wanted something better.

They wanted an island where no child was cold for lack of shelter and no family hungry for lack of food.

I am proud to continue in their legacy.

People like Terence MacSwiney should be our inspiration and our motivation. With small steps, we can build better.

Patriotism is about more than the flag and the land. It is about the people, the future, the vision of a better Ireland.

If, like me, you believe that better is possible and that people have a right to a home, then join us. Add your voice to the crowd.

Let them hear just how serious we are about ending homelessness, about delivering affordable homes, and about making sure that everyone who calls Cork home has a home of their own.

I will be on the Grand Parade on Saturday, October 4 at 2.30pm. Will you join me?