Gavin Mendel-Gleason
Reilly’s claims in social media post about the Workers’ Party’s attitude to O’Cualann Housing development in Ballymun are ‘totally fabricated’ says Ballymun Workers’ Party representative Gavin Mendel-Gleason
Mendel-Gleason stated:
‘My attention was brought to a post on Facebook by Ballymun Sinn Féin Councillor Reilly in which she claimed that the Workers’ Party had accused O’Cualann Housing Co-operative of being developers and ‘‘creaming off the system.’’ These are totally fabricated, outrageous and downright bizarre lies from an elected representative who really should know better than to engage in such behaviour.
The Workers’ Party is not in any way opposed to cooperative housing or the O’Cualann development in Ballymun. What we are opposed to is selling public land to for-profit private developers.’
Mendel-Gleason continued:
‘It’s hard to know what would motivate Councillor Reilly to fabricate such a story when the Workers’ Party has never commented negatively on the co-operative development in Ballymun. Perhaps she is feeling the heat over Sinn Féin’s record on Dublin City Council of supporting land sell-offs to private developers under the Housing Land Initiative.
This is a voting record they share with the establishment parties of Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, and Labour, which puts Sinn Féin’s posturing as a radical alternative for working class people in a very different light. On the other hand, the Workers’ Party has consistently opposed this sell-off and has countered it with a costed policy for mixed-income public housing on public land.’
‘The Workers’ Party knows exactly where it stands on the housing crisis. There is no confusion around our stance on and support for co-operative and public housing. I would ask that Councillor Reilly withdraw her bizarre claims and publicly acknowledge that the Workers’ Party holds no such position.
It’s well known that Councillor Reilly is in dispute with her own Party locally, perhaps she is trying to distract attention from this internal row by starting a dispute with another party locally.’