Dublin mayors and housing chiefs join in call to new Government to make homes priority

MAYORS, deputy mayors and housing committee chiefs of Dublin’s four local authorities and housing activist Erica Fleming (from the RTÉ documentary My Homeless Family) met on Tuesday to call on the new Government to make housing a priority.

The meeting was at South Dublin County Council at the invitation of Sinn Féin Mayor Sarah Holland.

At the meeting were Councillor David O’Connor (Mayor of Fingal), Councillor Cieran Perry (Deputy Mayor of Dublin City Council), Councillor Cathal King (Chair of South Dublin County Council Housing Committee), and Councillor John Bailey (Chair of Dún Laoghaire Rathdown Housing Committee).

Erica Fleming gave the group a briefing on life for a homeless family in a hotel and how it’s not one to be envied.

Educated and in full-time employment, Erica has been living in emergency accommodation with her 10-year-old daughter for almost a year with no end in sight.

She is using her public profile from the RTÉ documentary to highlight the housing crisis and to give a voice to those marginalised families who are existing day by day going from hotel to hotel or B&B to B&B.

Councillor Sarah Holland said:

“I called this meeting following a discussion with my colleagues on the South Dublin County Council Progressive Alliance.

“There is more to the role of Mayor than cutting ribbons, so we decided to see if we could have an impact by collectively calling on the new Housing Minister to make solving this housing emergency a priority.

“Housing is the number one issue we face as county councillors, and I’m not alone in sometimes feeling that it’s like banging your head off a brick wall.”

The four local authorities have agreed a plan of action, to include calling for a meeting with the new Housing Minister.

Councillor Cathal King, who has been active on the council’s Housing Committee since 2003, said:

“Not a day goes by that I don’t have a housing case to deal with. We are seeing three generations of families living in overcrowded conditions, homeless families living in emergency accommodation and we have 9,000 on our list waiting on homes – in some cases up to 10 years.

“We have encountered difficulties in getting the money off central Government. Former Minister Alan Kelly has said several times that there are funds available but these are not being handed over to us.

“We need a large-scale build of sustainable, mixed tenure communities.

“The new Housing Minister needs to hit the ground running, and all four Dublin authorities will be writing to ask for a meeting as soon as possible.”