City Hall Threatened With Protests Over Housing List

City Hall Threatened With Protests Over Housing List
The numbers on the housing list in Cork City could reach 10,000 by the end of the year – and City Hall will face a series of protests unless the council takes radical action to tackle the housing crisis. This is according to Sinn Féin Councillor Chris O’Leary, who spoke at a well attended meeting on the issue in Mahon last night.

Speaking at the second in a series of public meetings organised by Cork Sinn Féin, Cllr O’Leary said:

“The waiting list for housing continues to soar. On current trends, there will be 10,000 families on the list by November. Radical action is needed to deal with this ongoing crisis. Sinn Féin is calling for some of the 300,000 vacant dwellings across the state to be purchased at cost price and either allocated to social housing tenants or sold off cheaply to home buyers. Many of these dwellings come under NAMA and these should be the first to be made available for social housing.”

“Meanwhile the City Council must get its own act together and implement a series of motions which the Sinn Féin council team have already secured agreement on – including the establishment of a transparent housing list, a charter for council service users, and a facility for tenants waiting for emergency maintenance to carry out the work themselves and have the cost deducted from their rent.”

“This is the second public meeting on housing I have spoken at within the past two weeks. The anger expressed here from the floor, and the determination to force City Hall to change, were mirrored at Togher Community Centre ten days ago. The frustration of those spending years on the housing list, and facing bureaucratic stonewalling and delay from council officials, is the same all over the city. Unless radical action is forthcoming from the council, within a fortnight we will be looking for your support to take this campaign directly to the housing office in City Hall with the first of a series of protests.”

The next meeting will take place in the Glen Resource Centre on Wednesday 20th October.

For further information contact Cllr Chris O’Leary @ 087/2794307