John calls for a radical public housing initiative:

John O Neill, the Irish Socialist Network candidate for Dublin North West has proposed a radical public housing initiative. According to John, the issue of housing has emerged as one of the main problems raised by voters in the constituency.

Commenting on the fact that stamp duty was being touted as an election issue by the establishment parties and sections of the media, John stated: ‘Stamp duty is fairly low on the priority list for most voters. Nobody I have spoken to on the canvass has raised this issue, but many people have spoken to me about the fact that they or their children can’t afford to buy a home. Thousands of middle and low-income families are being denied the basic right to a home because the main parties are in the pocket of private “developers” who see houses solely as a source of profit. The average price paid for a Dublin house in January 2007 was €427,946, yet the average industrial wage is €32,000. It is very difficult to afford a mortgage on such a wage. This mess can only be solved by boosting public, community and cooperative housing as a real alternative to the private housing market. In a wealthy society like ours there is no excuse for tolerating massive mortgage repayments, sky-high rents, endless waiting lists and homelessness’.

John called for an emergency programme of public housing based on the real needs of people not inflated profits for builders, developers and landlords:

* Implement an emergency large-scale building program of good quality, environmentally sustainable, affordable public housing.
* Tax profits made on rezoned land and penalize developers who fail to develop these lands.
* Implement the (largely ignored) laws on private rented accommodation, forcing landlords to maintain private housing stock in good condition.
* Ensure that recreational, cultural, educational and social facilities receive priority in development planning, and that housing, employment opportunities, childcare and public transport are linked.
* Introduce a constitutional referendum to allow for the return of rent controls.
* Establish a publicly owned and controlled housing finance corporation to provide low interest home loans.
* Establish public housing tenant associations with real powers at neighbourhood and citywide level along with similar forums for housing associations, co-operative and crisis housing tenants and for those in the private rented sector.

For further information contact John O Neill at: 087-6367175

Email: irishsocialist@dublin.ie