Dáil debates

Tuesday, 21 May 2019

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions

 

2:55 pm

Photo of Mick BarryMick Barry (Cork North Central, Solidarity) | Oireachtas source

Last night, I attended a protest against evictions at Dillon's Cross in Cork city. The residents of six flats were given notices to quit by July. These people had paid their rents and had not broken their leases. The previous landlord died late last year and the property had been inherited by a nephew. This nephew no doubt noted that the rents were relatively low. He handed out the notices to quit and announced that refurbishment was needed. I have no doubt that, after refurbishment, the rents will double or treble. One of the residents, Brendan, went to the council housing department and was advised to look for a house or apartment share in the private rental sector - co-living I suppose. Brendan is 42 years of age and said that he would not and, in fact, could not share. He was advised that if that was the case, he should check out the Simon Community.

Brendan is not the only one of the residents facing eviction into homelessness. Under this Government, more than 10,000 people are officially homeless. Two thousand years ago, a revolutionary Palestinian carpenter named Jesus Christ entered a temple, overturned the tables of the money changers and denounced the profiteers for organising a den of thieves. This country is crying out for a Government which will cleanse our modern-day den of thieves - the greedy landlords, get rich quick merchants and vulture funds, such as Ires REIT whose profits nearly doubled last year and which pays no corporate or capital gains tax. The Taoiseach and his Government refuse to act. They refuse to ban economic evictions and evictions into homelessness. They refuse even to put a moratorium on evictions until such time as this crisis has passed. Instead, the Taoiseach and his Government support the new European Commission directive which will restrict the rights of member states to impose their own regulations on vulture funds.

This is not a surprise. Four members of Cabinet are landlords, as are five Ministers of State. Nearly one third of members of the Fine Gael Parliamentary Party are landlords. Fine Gael will not act against its class interests. This Friday, voters will have a chance to deliver a verdict on the Government's performance on housing. Fine Gael deserve a hammering at the ballot box.

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