Cllr. Éilis Ryan
Amidst growing controversy last week around the future of the O’Devaney Gardens site in Dublin 7, the Workers’ Party have condemned what they said was “clear glee” on the part of Minister for Housing Simon Coveney about the prospective privatisation of the land.
Speaking following Minister for Housing Simon Coveney’s reaction last Thursday (September 1st) to the Workers’ Party’s successful proposal for 100% mixed income public housing on the site, Cllr Éilis Ryan said:
“In the context of the current housing crisis, Minister Coveney’s glee at the prospect of making profit on O’Devaney Gardens was nothing short of scandalous. Instead of focussing on the drastic housing need in Dublin 7 and the city more broadly, the Minister for Housing chose to focus on the valuable location of the land.
What more evidence could be needed to show up the anti-public housing agenda of our government?”
The Workers’ Party have successfully passed a motion at Dublin City Council for what they call Solidarity Housing on the O’Devaney Gardens site – a proposal for 100% public, mixed income housing which would cater for both those on the housing list, and other, higher income households with a demonstrated housing need.
The motion now faces objections from Dublin City Council and, according to Cllr. Ryan, the same councillors who voted for it only weeks ago.
Cllr Ryan said:
“Minister Coveney has now made clear that he intends to obstruct the delivery of public housing even on sites which the council itself owns.
She concluded:
“My fellow councillors now have a choice. Do we deliver what the people of Dublin voted for in 2014 – that is, local government driven by the interests of people and not big business – or, do we bow down to demands from our right wing government to sell off our most precious assets for private profit?”