Housing

Housing

Housing for the future

The weekend before Christmas the European Union reached a deal on their “fit for 55” plans, a policy that aims to reduce the emission of carbon dioxide in the EU by at least 55 per cent in 2030 relative to 2005. To accomplish this, the EU has set up a […]

Housing Ireland Political Economy

Privatising the Northern Ireland Housing Executive
—against evidence, against the working class

A major victory for the civil rights struggle in Northern Ireland was the removal of public housing from sectarian control through the creation of the Northern Ireland Housing Executive. The NIHE built up a reputation for building some of the best public housing in western Europe, and developing progressive engagement […]

Housing Ireland

Public housing is the solution

The housing crisis will not be solved by treating the symptoms. The root cause—the Government’s political strategy of transferring the provision of homes to the private sector—is the problem that has to be tackled if we are to solve this crisis permanently. This requires a sustained national building campaign by […]

Housing Ireland

Housing and the Irish state

The recent announcement that the state plans to allow local councils to buy homes in order to house refugees from Ukraine is another example of the class interests responsible for the present housing “crisis.”  In reality there are more than enough housing units—90,158 vacant dwellings in 2021, according to the […]

Campaigns Housing

Housing must be a public good

On Wednesday 13 April residents of the Devanny housing estates held a protest in their area and expressed their continued anger at Dublin City Council and the planners involved in this quango as these bodies seek to privatise more public lands. There was a good turn-out by residents, local political […]

Housing Political Economy

Public housing the solution

Government housing policy is the cause of the housing crisis. Homelessness, waiting-lists and extortionate levels of private rent are the symptoms of policy designed to benefit speculators, landlords, and hedge funds—the business class. The number of homes available to rent has fallen close to a historical record, while rents have […]

Housing Ireland

A Tale of Two Economies

If you were to do an online search for “richest countries” you would quickly find lists where Ireland features prominently, by some estimates sometimes as high as the third-richest in the entire world. At the same time you would understand anecdotally, or perhaps personally, the difficulty with which people manage […]

Campaigns Housing Ireland

Public housing is the solution

Government housing policy is the cause of the housing crisis. Homelessness, waiting-lists and extortionate private rent levels are the symptoms. Universally accessible public housing is the cure, the solution, to permanently end the housing crisis. Government housing policy works very well for those it is designed to benefit: the speculators, […]