These Citizens Are Already Fighting For UP Housing - Why Don’t You Join Them?
A growing number of Irish citizens are waking up to the fact that there is something fundamentally wrong with the current approach to housing. And as importantly, they have decided to do something about it. Read on to find out how you too can join the fight for housing justice.
The seeds of today’s housing crisis were planted as far back as the 1960s when Fianna Fail, Fine Gael and Labour adopted housing policies which shifted the balance away from state provided housing towards private-sector provided housing. Homes were now to be considered as privately-owned commodities that would be bought and sold in the market place.
With each passing decade the domination of housing by private landowners, developers, bankers, estate agents, landlords and other profiteers has grown ever greater. The Vulture Landlord takeover of Irish housing that is happening today is simply the logical outworking of commodification of housing. In the housing market place of the 2020s young couples are going head-to-head with multi-billion-euro private corporations. There will be only one winner.
The commodification of housing is the fundamental problem that has fueled the housing crisis of the last twenty years. It’s the elephant in the room that none of the establishment parties, including Sinn Féin, Labour, the Green Party and the Social Democrats are willing to tackle for fear of losing support among the homeowners of ‘middle Ireland’. Instead they put forward ‘solutions’ which amount to little more than minor tweaks to the current system.
Universal Public Housing is the only model of housing that can permanently end the housing crisis because it will effectively end the commodification of Irish housing. Under such a system the state would be legally required to provide affordable, secure housing to everyone that is in need, regardless of their income or background.
UP Housing would not only provide housing to our people. It would transform Irish society by breaking the economic and political power of the landowners, developers, bankers and landlords. You can find all you need to know about UP Housing here.
UP Housing isn’t some unachievable, republican fantasy as the establishment parties and media would have you believe. The state already has the land, the finances, the expertise and the legal powers to make UP Housing a reality. The only thing that’s lacking is the political will to make it happen - the political will to take on the powerful vested economic and political interests that benefit from the status quo. And that’s where you come in.
The big political parties have already put forward their ideas for solving the housing crisis - ideas that the lack the courage to take on the vested interests - ideas that will not end the housing crisis.
The demand for UP Housing is going to have to come from somewhere else - from those who are denied access to secure, affordable homes - from citizen-activists building widespread support across Irish society for a fundamentally different approach to housing.
The photos above were taken in recent days as citizens just you like did their bit to help spread the UP Housing message in Dublin, Cork, Galway, Wexford and Athlone. If you’re ready to join them in the fight for justice and change, get in touch here.