Dessie Ellis (Dublin North West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Today everyone could feel the palpable anger on the streets of Dublin at the Raise the Roof protest outside Leinster House. This anger is not just being heard on Kildare Street but on every street across the country. People from every walk of life came to express their anger and want action, as well as to let the Minister know that this crisis in housing and homelessness never was and never will be acceptable. It seems people power is the only way the Government will listen to the voice of reason and be forced to take action.

This march gives a voice to the 4,000 homeless children who the Minister is deaf to and who are calling out to the Government to end their plight. If the Minister will not listen to these children, then maybe he will listen to the thousands who stood outside the gates of Leinster House today. It also gives voice to the many who have died on our streets. Homeless figures have grown, week in, week out, with no end in sight, despite what the Government says.

The people have risen. There will be more marches and more protests. The Minister is wrong on housing and homelessness. He is wrong on his ideology, more so. The thousands who gathered today for the Raise the Roof protest know the Minister is wrong too. It is time he listened to the people and stopped defending the indefensible.

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