Housing activists, including members of Take Back Trinity, today demanded the resignation of the Minister for Housing, Eoghan Murphy, in the culmination of weeks of protests against the lack of affordable housing in Ireland.
More than 30 protestors gathered on North Frederick St – where the group is currently running an occupation of a vacant property – to hear speeches from various activists. Then the group marched towards the Custom House, brandishing banners and chanting “Murphy Murphy Murphy out out out” and “Homes for people, not for profit”. As they moved, more people joined the marchers.
The protestors had publicised that they would be marching to Leinster House to meet Murphy but, in a surprise move, instead assembled on the steps of the Custom House to read out a letter to the minister, demanding his resignation. The group also called on small parties to hold a vote of no confidence.
In the letter, the group condemned Murphy’s “utter failure as a housing minister and indeed Fine Gael’s failure as a government to deal with the housing and homelessness crisis”. “After 14 months in office, the housing crisis has only gotten worse”, the letter read.
“It has become completely untenable to work with the current government. There is now no alternative course open to us but to call for [his] resignation”, the group wrote in the letter.
The group marched on the Custom House last week, where they demanded a meeting with Murphy, but were told that he was on annual leave. The activists were scheduled to have a meeting with the minister in Leinster House today but staged this protest instead.
Housing activists first occupied a vacant property on Summerhill Parade but were forced to end the 10-day occupation after a the High Court granted an injunction.
Take Back Trinity, which was set up in March, has shifted its focus recently to the housing crisis. The group recently attended Dublin’s first-ever Trans Pride in July, marching alongside other housing groups.
The group has made several demands in posts on social media, appealing to the government to buy all vacant properties and land to repurpose it into accommodation. “We want to highlight that private, vacant properties can, and should be put into public ownership”, the group said in a statement
Activists have also called for a ban on evictions and a rent cap at 20 per cent of the renter’s income or at €300 per room maximum. The group also called on others to take similar action to protest against the dire accommodation situation in Dublin.
“The housing crisis is not a natural disaster; we do not need to accept that this is simply the way it is. But things won’t get better on their own – action is needed, by people and for people”, the group said in the statement.
Speaking to The University Times at the beginning of the first occupation, Seán Egan, one of the leaders of Take Back Trinity who participated in the Summerhill occupation, said that he thought it was “inevitable” that there would be “a massive social movement around the issue of housing because the situation is untenable”.
“We think radical action needs to be taken to highlight not only the housing crisis but also the absolutely criminal behaviour of individual landlords”, Egan said.
Ivan Rakhmanin also contributed reporting to this piece.
