Why don't councillors talk as much about homelessness at meetings anymore?
For years, homelessness was a standing item on the agenda at most housing committee meetings. But, recently it hasn’t featured as often.
The Rediscovery Centre in Ballymun houses four social enterprises with reuse and repair at their hearts. The team wants to help others pursue the same goals.
Among other topics, councillors at Monday’s monthly meeting voted to set up a working group to plot a route to bringing waste services back under the council’s control.
Here’s some of what came up when talk turned to housing at July’s monthly meeting of Dublin City Council: affordable purchase, O’Devaney Gardens, and a new housing committee chair.
“It’s just, I don’t know. I don’t know what’s going to happen. There’s an awful thing over the place with people being sick,” says Annette Flanagan.
Ramon Cernuda counts 42 people in his apartment block on Rosedale Terrace who have been told they have to move out, so the landlord can refurbish.
The CoHousing Here! event in mid-June combines policy talks with workshops, successful examples from elsewhere and lessons from Ireland so far.
Hibernia REIT asked the council for a land swap or joint venture. A spokesperson said Tuesday that the company thought there was room for a more attractive development with more social homes.
“We can challenge and subvert network systems simply by highlighting where they are,” said Paul O’Neill, an activist-academic, to a group on a recent Saturday.
Some have been issued notices to leave, as company landlords want to renovate. Last week, several men went into one home and took the doors away with them.
Developers have to put up information websites so the public can learn about what’s planned. But some have code meant to keep them from showing up on search.
Dublin city councillors met recently to talk about who the council should prioritise if more people apply to buy “affordable” homes than there are affordable homes to buy.
Achille Didier says he hopes, as word spreads, more people will stop by to try the food they have here, or even use the space for their own events.