Thursday, September 06, 2018

Irish Homeless Militancy

Not long ago considered a hopeless case, Ireland’s economy is now roaring ahead with 5.6% GDP growth, making it the European Union’s star performer. Jobs are plentiful, luring back emigrants and drawing newcomers. Property prices are soaring. Chic restaurants are fully booked weeks in advance. RTÉ television is showcasing the top new entries to Ireland’s rich list – many of them tech tycoons, plus a Ferrari salesman and other purveyors of luxury. No one dares call it the Celtic Tiger – the nickname of a decade-long boom that ended disastrously in 2008 with a financial crash, bank bailouts and harsh austerity – but the economy, driven by domestic demand, is near full employment.

Not everyone, however, is benefitting.


Irish government figures published last week showed a record number of people in emergency accommodation in July – 6,024 adults and 3,867 children, up by about a quarter since the same month last year.
Almost 700 families have become homeless in Dublin so far this year, including 122 families in July, averaging four a day, according to the advocacy group Focus Ireland, a reminder about wide inequality in the country.
“It’s virtually an emergency situation,” said Tommy Gordon, who manages Wicklow Homeless Five Loaves, a drop-in centre south of Dublin. “We’re supplying tents and sleeping bags to the homeless and food to those in financial difficulty.”
About 40 people a day use the centre, up about a quarter from last year.  A recently installed shower is in near-continuous use, said Gordon.
Activists and service providers blame the crisis on spiralling rents and a crippling housing shortage, especially affordable, social housing.
“This is evidence of our broken housing system. Successive governments have stepped away from building social housing,” said Niamh Randall, a spokesperson for the Simon Communities, a housing charity. The state had left housing to market forces which were not delivering, she said. “There is growing commodification of housing, we’re seeing more vulture funds moving in. But the private rented sector doesn’t have the supply to respond.”
A backlash is brewing. Using the hashtags #homes4all and #TakeBackTheCity a coalition of housing activists last month occupied a four-storey property in the heart of Dublin which has been vacant for three years. Dozens have rallied outside while others inside have bedded down. They remained there at the weekend in defiance of a court order to leave the property last week.
“Injunction be damned: it’s better to break the law than to break the poor,” tweeted Mick Barry, a member of the Dáil, Ireland’s parliament.
If and when police enforce the court order the activists will move onto another vacant property in the city centre, said Michelle Connolly, an occupier affiliated with the group Dublin Central Housing Action. “There are plenty to choose from...The idea of the boom being back is not really reflected in people’s lived experiences on the ground. Rents are increasing, wages are not,” said Connolly. She hoped occupations will spread. “We’re doing this action to kickstart people into doing more. We’d love to see other groups start to do similar actions. We’re getting a lot of messages from around the country looking for advice.”

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