Up to 1,000 people partake in Raise the Roof rally in Cork
Up to 1,000 people took to the streets of Cork this afternoon calling for urgent Government action to end homelessness and the housing crisis.
The rally, under the umbrella of the Raise the Roof campaign, followed last Tuesday's protest outside the Dáil in Dublin.
The national campaign is organised by a coalition of trade unions and Opposition political parties.
Among the unions present were SIPTU, Fórsa, the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation and the Community Action Tenants Union.
Joe Kelly of the Cork Council of Trade Unions said it was great to see people coming out in force to demand that there is a change to the housing policy of the Government.
"People are very angry. We have workers on all sides of the economy and they are just priced out of housing. People have good jobs and they still can't a roof over their head," he said.
TDs and councillors from Sinn Féín, the Green Party, the Labour Party and the Social Democtrats marched as did members of People Before Profit, the Socialist Party, the Irish Traveller Movement and Derelict Ireland.
Jude Sherry and Frank O'Connor of Derelict Ireland carried a banner showing dozens of photographs of derelict homes from across the country.
Ms Sherry said: "The whole of the country is crumbling. Every town, village and city has vacant and derelict properties in it.
"So we have enough homes in Ireland to meet the emergency of getting everyone a home, even just the amount of council homes in the country is enough to ensure there is no child in emergency accommodation or going without a home."
Labour Senator Laura Harmon said the State has to step in to build houses.
"Something absolutely has to be done, we are losing teachers, gardaí, nurses, key workers from this country because of the housing crisis. I believe the housing crisis is the biggest threat to our economy here in Ireland, we need to treat it like an emergency," she said.
Social Demoncrats TD Pádraig Rice said their message is that the Government's housing policy have failed and they need to change, while Sinn Féin's Thomas Gould said the clear message from today's rally is that "we need homes, and we need them now".
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