The city council has been warned against handing public housing over to charitable housing bodies, in light of increasing sell-offs of public housing by such bodies in the UK.
Cllr. Éilis Ryan was speaking ahead of a vote at next Monday’s (July 2nd) council meeting, on whether to give 52 newly-acquired public housing units in Ringsend to Túath housing charity.
Cllr. Ryan said:
“The 52 Shelbourne Plaza apartments were bought by the council for €24.5 million just six months ago. In and of itself, paying €450,000 for apartments whilst giving away land we ourselves own is outrageous.
“But worse again, Dublin City Council now want to hand these apartments over to a different organisation – a charitable housing body, Túath. The city council is losing oversight and control of all new public housing.”
Cllr. Ryan continued:
“Nobody is questioning Túath’s credentials. But ultimately, it is the responsibility of councillors to look 50 years down the line and ensure we can guarantee we do not lose this housing to the private market.
“In London last month, we saw housing charity Glasspool sell off 63 units in an affluent area. This is part of a growing trend, and is compounding gentrification and division.”
The councillor concluded:
“The stipulations of the disposal by the Council to Túath allow leaway for these properties to be sold in ‘exceptional circumstances,’ and also to be handed over to a bank if there is a mortgage outstanding on them and the owner goes bankrupt. These may seem like outlandish scenarios, but it’s exactly what we now see happening in the UK.
“I am encouraging all those who believe in public housing to vote against this disposal, and mandate Dublin City Council to take on a renewed role in building public housing in our city.”