Latest news with #RaiseTheRoof
BreakingNews.ie
17-06-2025
- Business
- BreakingNews.ie
Homes turned into ‘financial assets', hundreds of housing protesters told
Homes have been turned into financial assets and young renters into an income stream, hundreds of housing protesters in Dublin were told. People gathered outside Leinster House on Tuesday for a 'Raise the Roof' rally, where five opposition TDs addressed the crowd. Advertisement It comes after the Government announced rent reforms plans that the opposition has criticised as it will increase rent costs. People gather outside Leinster House, Dublin, during a Raise the Roof protest (Niall Carson/PA) The Government has said its plans will provide new protections for renters and also attract private investment in housing, which will boost supply and moderate housing costs. At the rally on Tuesday evening, opposition politicians criticised the Government's 'terrible' housing plan and urged people to take to the streets to protest against them. Social Democrats TD Rory Hearne said that Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael had turned homes 'into a financial asset'. Advertisement 'Our younger generations have been turned by Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael into an asset class of institutional investors who see them as an income stream that will pay their wages, their incomes, their wealth, into the future.' In what drew applause from the crowd, Mr Hearne added: 'The Government talks a lot about blockages to housing and barriers to housing. The biggest barrier and blockage to housing in this country is behind us, and it's called Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael.' Musicians including Lisa O'Neill also performed at the demonstration, which could be heard from within the halls of Leinster House. Social Democrats TD Rory Hearne addresses the crowd outside Leinster House in Dublin during a Raise the Roof protest (Niall Carson/PA) Many party political flags were visible at the protest, and there were some handmade signs with slogans such as 'rent is too damn high' and 'dereliction is a social crime'. Advertisement Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald said that the Government's instincts on housing were 'wrong' and so unions, civil society groups and opposition parties had to 'step up to the mark'. 'All of us need to stand up, but so do you. We need you to back us now, because this Government must be faced down. 'Our renters cannot be, again, put to the pin of their collar and screwed because the Government wants to lick the boots of cuckoo and vulture and big investment funds. 'Our message today to Micheál Martin and Simon Harris is: lads, the game is up. The people are at the gate.' Advertisement Labour leader Ivana Bacik accused the Government of U-turns and 'terrible' housing policies. Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald addresses the crowd outside Leinster House in Dublin during a Raise the Roof protest (Niall Carson/PA) 'They propose to expand Rent Pressure Zones across the country, but they're hollowing them out. 'Instead of delivering lower rents and greater security for tenants, what we're seeing instead is renters pitched into fear and uncertainty.' She said that Mr Martin and Fianna Fáil 'laugh' at Labour's call for a state construction company. Advertisement 'Well they should learn their history, because the last time we built social and affordable homes at scale in this country, it was done through a Fianna Fáil national building agency, an agency that had state backing and that could deliver at the scale that's needed.' People Before Profit TD Paul Murphy, who recently flew back to Ireland after being detained in Egypt as he tried to travel to Gaza, said that rising rents had become government policy. 'We cannot wait 'til the next election. We cannot wait for over 20,000 people to be homeless, and that's where we'll be by the next election if things keep going. 'We can't wait for average rent in Dublin to go well beyond 3,000 euros a month. We can't wait while house prices continue to rise at a record rate. We have to stop them now with protests like this.' People gather outside Leinster House, Dublin, during a Raise the Roof protest (Niall Carson/PA) Mr Murphy encouraged thousands of people to join a Community Action Tenants Union (Catu) protest in Dublin on Saturday July 5th, and said there should be a 'massive' protest in the run up to the Budget in the autumn. The protest was held to coincide with a motion in the Dáil on housing and homelessness, which calls for the introduction of a no-fault eviction ban and greater use of compulsory purchase orders to 'bring empty homes back into use'. Speaking in the Dáil after attending the protest, Sinn Féin TD Eoin Ó Broin said 'several thousand people' had gathered outside. The Housing Minister James Browne, when moving to amend the motion, said that the opposition was good at 'personalising' the debate but had offered 'no solutions'.
Irish Times
17-06-2025
- Politics
- Irish Times
‘A roof over your head is seen as a luxury': Hundreds attend housing protest outside Dáil
Hundreds of people gathered outside the Dáil this evening as part of a demonstration urging the Government to take 'urgent action' to address the housing crisis . Sínead Scully and Luke Murphy attended the Raise the Roof protest as they feel locked out of the housing market. Nearing their 30s, the couple moved in with Mr Murphy's parents after two and half years renting in order to save for a mortgage deposit. With a master's degree and a PhD between them, Mr Murphy said they have another year or two of 'hard saving' before they can move out. 'We're both in very secure jobs and we're in a position to save but we're still not able to afford property in Dublin,' Ms Scully said. READ MORE They don't believe the Government is advocating on their behalf. 'I think they think they're doing a good job, but clearly they aren't,' Ms Scully said, adding that programmes such as the Help To Buy scheme don't have the intended effect when property prices are so high. 'I think it's years and years of successive Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael governments … applying bandaid solutions to long term problems," Mr Murphy said. Protestors at The Raise the Roof rally outside Leinster House. Photograph: Alan Betson / The Irish Times Mother and son Ger Nolan and Evan Sheridan have always regarded housing as a pressing issue for the younger generation. 'It wasn't a worry I had at 16 or 18, but that's the reality nowadays,' Ms Nolan said. 'Housing is where everything stems from. You need people to run services in the country and if they can't afford to pay rent in Dublin, the city doesn't function any more,' she added. Mr Sheridan said 'housing is a basic human right, it's crazy how something as basic as a roof over your head is either too expensive or is seen as a luxury, and for many young people is a luxury'. He believes the Government is making housing out 'to be a lot more complicated than it actually is', citing the €14 billion windfall tax from Apple last year as a reason why 'funding is not an issue'. Photograph: Alan Betson/The Irish Times Bernard Joyce, a representative of the Irish Traveller Movement, said 'it's really important that we're all here together today'. Mr Joye said Irish Traveller women and children are disproportionately homeless, and called for 'culturally appropriate accommodation which meets their community's needs'. Among the speakers were Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald, Labour leader Ivana Bacik, Rory Hearne of the Social Democrats and People Before Profit's Paul Murphy. There was a considerable presence of their supporters at the demonstration. The speakers often emphasised what they see as the interconnected nature of social issues such as the housing crisis, economic inequality, and discrimination against migrants. The demonstration was organised by Raise the Roof, a broad coalition of trade unions, advocacy groups, NGOs, political parties and homelessness agencies. It coincided with a Bill in the Dáil tabled by Sinn Féin, Labour, the Social Democrats, People Before Profit-Solidarity and the Green Party, as well as some left-wing independent TDs. The Bill seeks to implement freezes and caps on rent prices, reintroduce a ban on no-fault evictions, and increase taxes on vacant and/or derelict properties and funding for homelessness agencies.
RTÉ News
16-06-2025
- Politics
- RTÉ News
Opposition puts pressure on Government over housing
Political Correspondent, Mícheál Lehane reports on the Raise The Roof protest which will take place at the gates of Leinster House tomorrow when the Dáil will debate an opposition motion calling for emergency action to address the deepening housing and homelessness crisis.
Irish Times
09-06-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
Tough decisions to tackle housing crisis are under way – but will they work?
The expected move to ease rent caps is part of a Government response to the worsening housing crisis which will see further policy changes announced in the coming weeks, before a revised plan for housing is finalised in July. Government insiders hope that the departures will show them finally getting to grips with the housing crisis. But it would be an exaggeration to say there is confidence that all this will work quickly to increase housing supply. Meanwhile, opposition to the rent cap changes is growing and will be heard both in the Dáil tomorrow and on the streets next week when Raise the Roof, an umbrella group co-ordinated by the trade unions and including NGOs and Opposition parties, holds a major protest outside Leinster House. The housing measures include some already announced and some yet to come. There will be changes in planning regulations to allow small residences in back gardens, extensions and attic conversion s without planning permission; potentially also changes in regulations on apartment construction; the role of the Land Development Agency will be expanded to include mixed-use developments with private sector partners; the appointment of a 'housing tsar' ( just don't call it that ) is also coming; commencing the changes in last year's mammoth planning Act will make it harder to block planning permissions; and money will be provided for new planners in local authorities and An Bord Pleanála to speed up the planning process. READ MORE [ Explainer: Garden rooms and attics – What are the proposed changes to regulations? Opens in new window ] Divisions remain in Government over the possibility of tax incentives for builders and developers of certain types of housing, and they are unlikely to be settled until the budget. But at the top level of Government, there is a growing sense that urgent action is needed on housing, with one insider insisting that the series of decisions now under way will place housing at the very centre of the Government's priorities from now until the summer recess in mid-July. However, there is also an awareness that some measures to increase supply will leave the Coalition open to political attack and public unpopularity. [ Proposed changes to rent rules will incentivise evictions, housing charity warns Opens in new window ] And the problem for the Government is that the unpopularity and the political attacks will be immediate – but any potential payback from the measures in the shape of increased supply is at best years away, and may not even be felt until after the next general election. Even without the planning delays and legal actions that they have to factor into their considerations, builders and developers say it can still take three to four years to deliver a block of apartments. There is no doubt the measures will be welcomed by developers and landlords. But that is not necessarily the same thing as prompting them to move quickly to increase supply. Many will want to see if tax incentives are introduced in the budget; others will want to see if the Government has the political will to resist the pressure already building on the rent pressure zone changes. 'Look, the reality is there is no silver bullet,' says one senior Government source. But, the source says, we need apartments, and the people who build apartments are not building them right now because of the rent caps. [ Rules for renters: What are the planned reforms and will they work? Opens in new window ] All very well, but the simple and logical outcome of changing the rent cap rules is that rents will go up – that's why the landlords and the developers are in favour of it. The Government says that its package will protect renters – but among groups working at the coalface of homelessness, there is little confidence in that. An uptick in evictions and rising rents – both predicted by Opposition parties – would pile enormous pressure on the Government. Within Government, there is an undoubted willingness to take difficult decisions, and an awareness that the time to take them is in the first year of its term of office. But that is not matched by any great confidence that the measures will work. [ Ireland's housing crisis: Why is there such a shortage of homes to buy and rent here? Opens in new window ]
Irish Times
09-06-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
Proposed changes to rent rules will incentivise evictions, housing charity warns
Proposed changes to regulations in the private rental market will only act to incentivise evictions, the housing charity Focus Ireland has said. Its advocacy director, Mike Allen, said he was surprised by the timing of the move, which is expected to see rent levels in newly constructed build-to-let properties in rent pressure zones (RPZs) tied to the rate of inflation rather than capped at 2 per cent. It will also likely give landlords in affected areas the ability to reset rents between tenancies. Mr Allen, who has not been party to the proposals going to Cabinet on Tuesday, said they 'would clearly create incentives for landlords to evict their current tenants so that they could avail of higher, market-related rent for new tenants. READ MORE 'How do you make sure people are safe in those circumstances?' He was speaking at a Raise the Roof press conference on Monday. The trade union-backed group has announced protests over a lack of housing provision, scheduled to take place outside the Dáil next Tuesday, June 17th, and in Cork on Saturday, June 21st. Mr Allen also questioned why the rent moves did not come as part of a broader housing plan due this summer. Focus Ireland's Mike Allen, Siptu's Ethel Buckley, Kate Mitchell, of National Women's Council, and Patrick Nevin, of Irish Traveller Movement, at the Raise the Roof press conference. Photograph: Nick Bradshaw The reported plan is 'essentially a Government policy to increase rents' so as to stimulate investment, he claimed, but there was no reason to believe it would work. 'And if the only housing that can be produced is housing that people can't afford, then that isn't a solution to the housing crisis and it's very, very far from being a solution to the homeless crisis .' [ Housing RPZs: What will a new rental regulation system mean for renters in Ireland? Opens in new window ] Social Democrats TD Sinéad Gibney, one of a number of politicians to attend Monday's event, said the Government 'needs to answer the question: when is rent too high?' The Raise the Roof protest outside the Dáil at 6pm on June 17th, organised by Irish Congress of Trade Unions (Ictu), will coincide with a Private Members' Bill tabled by Opposition parties. Sinn Féin's housing spokesman Eoin Ó Broin said it would 'focus on emergency action, things that the Government can do now'. The measures, he explained, would include a faster return of vacant and derelict properties to social affordable use, as well as initiatives aimed at 'protecting renters'. Siptu deputy general secretary Ethel Buckley said the Government needed to ensure everybody had adequate housing and that workers were able to afford to live in the communities where they worked. 'This is a huge issue for the trade union movement,' she said, 'one that comes up with our members all the time because if they are not struggling with housing themselves, they have grown-up kids who can't afford to move out living with them or have other friends or family impacted by the crisis'. [ Average monthly rent exceeds €2,000 for the first time Opens in new window ] Other backers of the Raise the Roof campaign include advocacy groups representing women, the Traveller community, children and students. Meanwhile, the Irish Property Owners Association said it was concerned the proposed reforms were over-complicated and that a six-year minimum security of tenure would have 'a serious negative impact on private, non-institutional landlords, and on the rental market'. '[They] are unfair on the individual who – for good reason – wishes to, and needs to, rent out their home for a short period, and points to a flaw on the part of the Government thinking which – by going after institutional landlords – has ignored the implications for individual, private landlords,' said its chairwoman Mary Conway.
