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"June is deeply associated with Áine, the Irish goddess of summer, fertility, love, and sovereignty, whose presence is especially felt around the midsummer season."
Dublin City Councillors are currently looking at who gets social housing in the city, and whether there’s a fairer way to decide.
Councillors didn’t get through all of their agenda at Monday’s full council meeting, so they’ll have to come back to finish it later this month. But here’s some of what they discussed.
Social-housing tenants in Dublin should be involved in running the estates and complexes they live in, says independent Councillor Mannix Flynn. “This is about equality, empowerment and full participation.”
A chunk of the new social housing that the government has delivered in recent years has been from one source: “voids”, vacant homes that have been refurbished. But some are confused by the figures.
At this month’s housing committee meeting, councillors discussed the idea of tearing down thousands of homes in aging social-housing complexes and replacing them with new builds, among other issues.
At Monday’s monthly meeting, councillors questioned Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy on current policies – before moving on to their usual business.
At a special meeting, Dublin city councillors decided to cut the local property tax by more, rather than provide more city services.
Some argue that the way the government currently gets social housing from some developers is bad value for money.
Dublin city councillors voted to set up a group to look at solutions to damp and condensation, and learnt that they have partial access to social-housing-list details.
Plans for the Poolbeg SDZ would make 10% of 3,500 homes social housing. Councillors want to double or triple that, and add affordable housing too. They’re preparing for a showdown.
At Monday’s monthly meeting, councillors heard again about the future of the fire brigade, questioned a plank of the social-housing plan that includes PPPs, and more.
The scaffolding of our city is suffering from systematic disinvestment, writes Mick Byrne, a researcher at UCD’s School of Social Policy, Social Work and Social Justice.