Latest news with #RaisetheRoof
Irish Independent
4 days ago
- Politics
- Irish Independent
25% increase in adult homelessness in Cork in the last 12 months
Corkman There has been a 25% increase in adult homelessness in Cork in the last 12 months. The latest homeless figures released on Friday, May 30 showed that 650 adults in Cork and 193 children in Cork and Kerry live in emergency accommodation. Nationally the number of people accessing emergency accommodation rose again last month. The number of people in emergency homeless accommodation across Ireland has increased to a record of 15,580, according to the latest Government figures. The data shows that 10,805 adults and 4,775 children were accessing emergency accommodation during the last full week of April. It is an increase of 1,571 in a year, when 14,009 people accessed emergency accommodation in April 2024. Reacting to the latest figures, Sinn Féin TD for Cork North Central Thomas Gould criticised Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael for 'letting' the emergency get worse. '25% increase in Cork adult homelessness in 12 months. It is not normal that 650 adults in Cork and 193 children in Cork and Kerry live in emergency accommodation. "Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael are letting the housing emergency get worse and trying to make it normal. Shame on them,' he added. The people of Cork are being urged to attend the forthcoming 'Raise the Roof' housing protest in Cork City on Saturday, June 21. The Raise the Roof campaign includes a wide group of organisations including political parties, unions who represent older people, students, families and people with disabilities. The Cork TD encouraged as many people as possible to attend the housing protest. 'The housing protest will be held on June 21 in the Grand Parade at 2pm. It has never been more urgent. Let's fight back together.'
Irish Independent
5 days ago
- Politics
- Irish Independent
Cork groups unite to take the fight to the housing crisis ahead of major protest on June 21
The Raise the Roof campaign includes a wide group of organisations including political parties, unions who represent older people, students, families and people with disabilities. Representatives of those various organisations met outside Cork City Hall on Thursday evening to outline their plan. Speaking at the event, Sinn Féin TD for Cork North Central Thomas Gould said support for the protest is crucial because the housing crisis impacts everyone. 'There are generations of families living under the same roof. 'I know of a woman who is getting evicted on Monday, and another woman getting evicted tomorrow (Friday). 'People are crying out for houses, and we have hundreds of boarded up council houses throughout Cork city that families could be in right now. 'What we are trying to do here is come together and put pressure on the government,' Mr Gould said. Protesters are asked to meet at the National Monument on Grand Parade. Joe Kelly from the Cork Council of Trade Unions said it is important for all working people to come out on the day. 'There was a time that having a job would guarantee you a certain standard of living and enabled people to get on the housing ladder. 'Nowadays that is nearly impossible and that is unacceptable. 'It's going back 100 years ago when there were tenements and that can't carry on,' he said. Labour TD Eoghan Kenny and Labour Councillor for Cork City South-West Ciara O'Connor represented their party on the day, and Mr Kenny said: 'Housing is the issue of our time and of our generation's politicians.' 'My email is inundated with people looking for either affordable housing, social housing or private housing to rent. 'The days of going to people asking every auctioneer on the street of towns to find reputable accommodation should be absolutely gone. 'I'm sick and tired of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael making false promises on housing and missing housing targets,' he said. Ms O'Connor was co-opted to Cork City Council when newly elected Senator Laura Harmon gave up her seat and she said housing is the 'most prominent concern' of her constituents. 'I've had families that I know personally who have children with autism or severe needs in emergency accommodation for long periods of time. 'Emergency accommodation is not a good place for children to grow up,' Ms O'Connor added. Maire Kelly from CATU echoed the importance that people come out and show their support. 'Whether you're a parent with kids living at home or you're renting in an absolute dive of a house, or even a mortgage holder, everyone is affected and it's so important that everyone comes out. 'If we don't collectivise and show this is an issue, we won't see any change at all,' she added. Green Party Councillor for Cork City North East Oliver Moran described the housing crisis as a 'cross generation issue.' 'It is often said that people with mortgages are insulated from the housing crisis, but from that perspective you have a whole generation of people who are coming after them that do not have that opportunity. 'People's hearts are breaking looking at their children who don't have the same chance to get a house,' he said. Solidarity – People Before Profit's Brian McCarthy echoed the statements made and added: 'The real message that we want to push is that at the moment we have a landlords' government that serves the interests of millionaires, billionaires, developers and vulture funds. 'The money is there, the land is there but the political will isn't,' he said. Social Democrats Councillor for Cork South Central Niamh O'Connor said housing is something she gets contacted about most. 'We need people to get out on the street and make their voices heard because it is the number one issue in the country at the moment. 'Central government needs to give local authorities enough money to do up the derelict homes that we have. 'Even that would make so much of a difference,' she added. Sinn Féin Councillor for Cork City North-West added by saying: 'Even just visually, the more people there the better because we need feet on the ground. 'We need the support because we are fighting for people in our own areas inside the City Hall and the Dáil, and the support is really important,' she concluded.
Irish Examiner
27-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Examiner
Irish Examiner view: The clock is ticking on housing and infrastructure projects
Why is it that the delivery of major infrastructural projects in this country is consistently beset by delays, financial overruns, and the sort of political fractiousness and frustration that can only be brought on by incompetent governance? A glance at any newspaper over the past year will reveal how one or another vital piece of infrastructure — be it hospitals, roads, housing developments, water delivery, or green energy initiatives — is being delayed or abandoned because of planning rows, investment concerns, or opposition from fringe interests. Having played infrastructure as a major card in the last election campaign, this Government now needs to show vision and determination to see its plans come to fruition. Sadly, though, we are seeing none of that. As a result, efforts to see the likes of a national maternity hospital, Dublin's Metrolink, a decades-long need to invest in water and wastewater treatment facilities, and a variety of road and rail projects, are being unnecessarily bogged down. So too the development of four large offshore windfarms, which are at the centre of government plans to hit net zero emissions and are in disarray with one — at the Sceirde rocks off Connemara — already having been pulled by its promoters because of planning delays. But most pressing is the housing crisis. Opposition parties are trying their best to take advantage of growing frustration and anger by organising a national day of protest on June 17 as part of the Raise the Roof initiative. 'We want the largest number of people who are angry and frustrated in the first instance with the Government's failures on housing but also any other issue that this Government is failing on and the list is very long,' Sinn Féin housing spokesman Eoin Ó Broin said yesterday. Many of these calamities were not unpredictable but they put an sharp focus on a government which appears to be floundering. It's time for the Government to act, and decisively. The clock is ticking. Donald Trump's bluff is unravelling The bluff and bluster that have characterised Donald Trump's second term in the Oval Office are beginning to wear thin and it is now imperative that the US president takes affirmative action, not least against Russia. With his global economic policies in turmoil — along with global markets — because of his insufferable bullying and his threats of savage trade tariffs often turning into empty and shallow shadow games, Trump has more often looked foolish rather than the strongman he wishes to be perceived as. So too his promise of bringing peace to Ukraine. Having pledged to halt the conflict 'within days' of coming back to office, Trump has been played like a sucker by his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin. Despite Trump's assertion, following a two hour phone call with Putin last week, that because Moscow was ready to begin immediate ceasefire negotiations with Kyiv, he was unwilling to join Europe with fresh sanctions against Russia, he has seen his efforts unravel in a blitzkrieg of drone and cruise missile attacks on Ukrainian civilian targets at the weekend. Patience is not a characteristic Trump is noted for, but his unwillingness to further punish Putin and his regime is as mysterious as his readiness to attack Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy at any opportunity — up to and including blaming him for starting the war. Trump's narcissistic streak — he likes to be portrayed as a global strongman who bends people to his will without fail — is coming apart in the face of Putin's arrogance. That Trump described the Russian leader as 'crazy' because of Russia's increased bombardment of Ukrainian targets, is a measure of understandable frustration. But, with the likes of French president Emmanuel Macron, Danish prime minister Mette Frederiksen, and German foreign minister Johann Wadephul adamant that Putin lied to Trump, even still there is no action from the White House. Trump needs to up his game if he is not to be seen as a puppet of Putin's or, worse, a leader who has no idea what he's doing. What's your view on this issue? You can tell us here Sport wins with Munster Rugby venues In these columns last week, we called on the Munster branch of the IRFU to consider bringing more big games to rugby-hungry fans in Cork by utilising Páirc Uí Chaoimh. Within days, the branch announced that at least one Champions Cup game and two URC fixtures will be played at the Blackrock venue next season. It is very welcome not only that the sport's authorities finally recognised the crying need for big-ticket games in Cork in order to appease supporter demand, but also that they have finally recognised such a move would be hugely financially beneficial to both them and Cork GAA. For many years, the Munster branch's policy of only holding Champions Cup fixtures in Thomond Park, along with all the glamour URC ties, and only playing second-tier matches at Virgin Media Park in Cork, failed to meet the obvious demand that existed in the city for even an occasional big game. The city had shown its appetite for such ties when Munster played both South Africa and the New Zealand Maoris in front of full houses at Cork GAA HQ in recent years. The desire for more was plainly evident. Now they have bitten that particular bullet and announced the aim to offer a bit more to the Cork public next season, perhaps they should ponder expanding their reach even further. Would taking a game to venues such as Fitzgerald Stadium in Killarney or Semple Stadium in Thurles not help to expand the appeal of the game, and Munster rugby as a whole? Were it even to hold games in Limerick's Gaelic Grounds — just up the road from its own 'fortress' of Thomond Park — would that not also generate more money and help develop a wider audience? The professional game needs to be both profitable and popular and if Munster were to expand the province's reach, then the game itself would be the real winner. Read More Irish Examiner view: AI becoming an own goal for humanity
The Irish Sun
26-05-2025
- Politics
- The Irish Sun
‘Do-nothing Govt letting people down', rages Opposition amid vow to fight bid to ease rent caps & emergency action call
OPPOSITION parties will fight an easing of rent caps similar to how they battled water charges, it has been claimed. Advertisement 2 The four political parties involved in the 'Raise the Roof' housing campaign announced a protest outside Leinster House next month Credit: Niall Carson/PA Wire It comes after the four political parties involved in the 'Raise the Roof' housing campaign - Sinn Fein, Raise the Roof, which is a trade union and civil society campaign, has been involved in several demonstrations since 2018. The next protest is scheduled from 6pm on June 17 and will coincide with a private member's motion on At a joint media opportunity, Mr O Broin said: 'There is a growing anger and growing frustration at a Government that has completely abandoned communities, abandoned people in housing need, abandoned people in need of affordable childcare, abandoned people in need of vital supports for children with special needs or people accessing education or healthcare. Advertisement Read more in News 'And at the centre of that is an He said opposition parties would counter any move by the Government to reduce protections for tenants under He said that would be 'unacceptable' and added: 'Just as we've done in the past with the likes of Right to Water, we will put pressure inside the Oireachtas and without to force the Government to stand by renters and not Attempts to introduce metered water charges as part of the bailout programme were abandoned in 2017 after numerous mass protests. Advertisement Most read in Irish News Breaking Social Democrats TD Rory Hearne said the housing crisis has deepened into a 'social catastrophe' and disaster'. He said his party would be 'actively and vociferously' opposing any attempt to remove rent caps. Labour TD Marie Sherlock said there was a need for 'radical change' in housing delivery, adding: 'The level of despair out there is absolutely incredible; a degree of fatalism that housing will not be fixed in this country - and it has to be.' 2 Sinn Fein's Eoin O Broin called for emergency action on housing Credit: Niall Carson/PA Wire Advertisement
Irish Examiner
26-05-2025
- Politics
- Irish Examiner
Politicians call on 'angry and frustrated' public to join protest at Government's 'failure on housing'
The public is being urged by opposition parties to take to the streets to protest the "do-nothing" Government's failure on housing. TDs from four Opposition parties called on those who feel frustrated and abandoned by the Government to join them in a protest outside the Dáil on June 17 as part of the Raise the Roof initiative. "We want the largest number of people who are angry and frustrated in the first instance with the Government's failures on housing but also any other issue that this Government is failing on and the list is very long," said Sinn Féin housing spokesperson Eoin Ó Broin. With the housing crisis deepening, Mr Ó Broin said the public must come together to demand action from the Government "just as we have done in the past with the likes of Right2Water". The housing minister is set to discuss proposed changes to rent pressure zones with party leaders and Mr Ó Broin said any move that would increase the rent burden on tenants would be opposed "tooth and nail" by the opposition and the public. People Before Profit-Solidarity TD Paul Murphy said people were paying extraordinary amounts in rent, leaving them with nothing at the end of the month. The Government, which is "for landlords, by landlords", is seeking to double down on a strategy that has been failing people for over a decade, he said. "The strategy of the Government is to allow the crisis to get even worse, to allow rents to rise even further, even faster, all in the hope of 'oh this will attract in the private sector investment that will finally resolve this crisis'," said Mr Murphy. Those being hit by unaffordable rents and house prices as well as those who are living in emergency accommodation cannot afford to wait until the next general election for something to change, he said. "If we continue the way we are going, by the time of our next general election we will have well over 20,000 people in emergency accommodation in this country, rents will have risen by another 40% or so, and house prices will be so out of reach for ordinary people," said Mr Murphy. Sinn Féin, Labour, People Before Profit-Solidarity and the Social Democrats will put down a joint motion on the housing crisis on the day of the protest. Labour's Marie Sherlock said there was a collective responsibility on the part of the opposition to ensure housing remains firmly on the political agenda. She accused the Government of "constant deflection" from its own failures. It is time to get serious in terms of the "absolute dereliction" and the land banks that are lying undeveloped, she said. "We know that the vacant homes tax and derelict site levy are not worth the paper they are written on because the Government effectively set them up to fail, they expect to make so little money from them," said Ms Sherlock. When asked whether Ireland should consider imposing fines on developers if they are not building houses quickly enough, Social Democrats housing spokesperson Rory Hearne said while developers need to be held accountable, ultimately it comes back to the State. "They seem completely obsessed with the private market, with institutional investor funds and unable to find a way out of this disaster," said Mr Hearne. Read More Mick Clifford: Government needs to come clean on housing numbers
