The Accommodation Crisis in Ireland
Capitalism is the Disease - Socialism is the Cure
The accommodation crisis in Ireland is an all island issue but particularly in the 26 counties. Due to Ireland's broken housing system people are being treated as a statistic and as if they are less important than those who have put them in this situation. The root cause of this is a failed Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy, a minister with blinkers on who doesn't care that the people are on their knees and dying under his watch.
Homelessness is utterly heartbreaking. Others have an unhealthy view on homeless people based on a stigma that has been created by the upper class, who like to believe homelessness doesn't exist and that the people dying on our streets are in their situation because they didn't work hard enough or some other pathetic excuse they try to muster up. The reality of the situation is that the people you see on our streets day in and day out who are struggling to live are someone's grandparent, someone's mother or someone's child, yet Fine Gael TD's are raking in a wage of €96,189 per year to sit on their hands, whilst this Christmas there are 3,836 children living in emergency accommodation. Despite these vile figures Taoiseach Leo Varadkar believes and would like you to believe this is okay and he has previously claimed that Ireland has a "low level of homelessness". Despite this being the worst accommodation crisis since the famine.
The people of Ireland, however, are more clued in than our politicians in the Dáil, mass numbers of people are continuously holding protests against homelessness. On the 5th of December 2019, just two days after the vote of no confidence in Eoghan Murphy, thousands of people gathered in Ireland's capital, Dublin to protest this crisis. During the protest the crowds chanted "all we want for Christmas is a home" and my personal favourite "Leo Leo Leo, out out out!".
"Governments in capitalist society are but committees of the rich to manage the affairs of the capitalist class" - James Connolly
We as Irish people must evaluate the current situation in our country. Rent in parts of Ireland can be as high as €4,873 a month for a family of four. Our healthcare system is also in bits. The official number of people living on our streets is 10,514, other figures would suggest this to be a lot higher.
Capitalism is the disease in our country and socialism is the cure. We need politicians who care, who understand the situation. We NEED a new government, a socialist government, a progressive government, a government who will not look out for their rich friends and capital but a government that will ensure that this is an Ireland of equals, an Ireland for all, a new and agreed Ireland. Only then can we have a prosperous Ireland with a guaranteed home and a place for everyone.
Sinn Féin have produced policies on the Accommodation Crisis[1][2] and have said to help combat it they would, produce an accurate monthly report that includes all adults and children in state funded emergency accommodation as previous publications have not been clearly set out with the right numbers so an independent body must do this, Eoghan Murphy cannot be trusted to produce these figures. Sinn Féin introduced a bill to the Dáil to make housing a constitutional right, they also introduced a three year rent freeze bill in the Dáil, which would give tenants a break! Sinn Féin housing spokesperson TD Eóin Ó Broin has said “We have also made it clear that we want to deliver the biggest public housing programme in the history of the State to deliver a properly functioning housing sector for all”. This is the change we need to secure in Ireland to have a glimmer of hope in a better future for the people living on this island. On behalf of the struggling people of Ireland, please stop voting for these people. Stop allowing them to further ruin our country.
Eoghan Murphy, resign!
By Shelby Connolly
[1] https://www.sinnfein.ie/files/2017/EOB_level_of_homelessness.pdf
[2] https://www.sinnfein.ie/files/2017/EOB_Vacant_Homes_Strategy1.pdf