Airbnb has targeted council employees with online adverts. Does that count as lobbying?
“Just because it’s digital, and not over coffee, doesn’t mean it’s not,” says Niamh Kirk, an associate professor at the University of Limerick.
These were two of the issues Dublin city councillors discussed at their November monthly meeting on Monday.
These were among the issues Dublin city councillors dealt with at a meeting Tuesday, as they move to put the finishing touches on the new city development plan for 2022–28.
People waiting on them, stuck in precarious housing situations, are getting increasingly desperate, says People Before Profit Councillor Hazel de Nortúin. “It’s causing so much trauma.”
Official figures show an small uptick in landlords telling the RTB they were claiming an exemption from rent-cap rules because their properties hadn’t been rented for a while, or ever. But the totals are still small.
The Ballymun City Farm group envisions farm animals, a community garden, and a nature trail. But first they need a lease from the council, and funding.
Dublin city councillors voted for the policy to be in the next development plan. But that’s not what council managers put in the most recent draft.
These were among the issues Dublin city councillors discussed at Monday’s meeting of the North Central Area Committee.
The Housing Assistance Payment scheme is designed to mirror social housing, but HAP tenants are not always treated the same as those living in council-owned social homes.
Louisa Santoro, CEO of the Mendicity Institution, says that recently the homelessness situation is as bad as she has ever seen it. “It’s a disaster.”
Local councillors welcomed the plans, including confirmation that all the homes will be social or affordable, but also flagged the high proportion of studios.
Meanwhile, between March and June, work didn’t start on any new sites in Dublin city with planned developments of more than 10 homes, according to a council report.
The council says it is necessary to raise money to pay for community facilities for the hundreds of planned homes at St Michael’s Estate on Emmet Road.