Labour urges attendance at Raise the Roof Cork today at 2pm
Labour urges attendance at Raise the Roof Cork today at 2pm - The Labour Party
Labour Senator Laura Harmon has called out Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil’s failure to provide security and protections for renters.
Urging people to join the Raise the Roof rally in Cork today, Senator Harmon said this Government simply does not understand the fear facing renters in Ireland.
Senator Harmon said:
“Renting in Ireland should not mean living in constant fear, but that’s where Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil have brought us to. We need to build a new era of housing that prioritises transparency, fairness and stability, factors that are severely lacking from all communications emanating from this Government.
“In Cork city, average rent is now over €2,200 per month. It’s utterly unaffordable and it’s no surprise that our talented generation of young people are leaving the shores in their droves. They see no future for themselves in Ireland due to the sheer lack of hope of homeownership.
“Not all renters want to buy a home, but many aspire to given the lack of affordable and secure rental homes. We know that the majority of people who are entering homelessness are coming from the private rental market where they have been squeezed out.
“During the week of 21-27 April of this year, 888 men, women and children were depending on emergency accommodation in Cork and Kerry, 193 of whom were children. The failure to introduce real rental protections is playing no small part in this increasing trend.
“Labour are clear, we need to introduce a 2 year rent freeze and ban no fault evictions until supply reaches demand. We also need to ensure there are repercussions for landlords who flout the new RPZ rules.
“For 10 years, Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil have prioritised the needs of big business over ordinary working people. It’s gone on too long and people in Cork and across the country have had enough. The housing crisis demands radical action, not more of the same. It’s time to end Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil’s ideological warfare against renters.”