124 lines
5.3 KiB
Plaintext
124 lines
5.3 KiB
Plaintext
********** Housing the homeless **********
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from Workers Solidarity No 35
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[1992?]
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A year ago this February the Irish Times
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headlined an article "Housing plan aims to
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provide 5,000 more homes for the poor". If
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your one of the thousands rushing for the
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evening press at 12.00 and then to the phone
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you might well be wondering where these homes
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are. If your now, living in a damp little
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brown room that costs more than you can
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afford it's probably small consolation to
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know that your not alone. In 1989 it was
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estimated that over 19,000 people needed housing.
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Another assessment of housing needs was carried out
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this year, but this time the government has decided
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not to publish the findings of the review board. In
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February, the government said that large scale
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building by local authorities "would not now be
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appropriate". It would seem Padraigh Flynn (Minister
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for the environment) doesn't think shelter is
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appropriate for the homeless. The same report in the
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Irish Times stated that there will be 1,500 housing
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starts this year, yet so far only 173 have been
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approved for Dublin, Cork and Waterford, with less
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than 1000 expected to be built over all.
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Instead of building houses?
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So if the government isn't going to actually build
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more houses, what is it offering instead. The plan
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had four main points; Firstly, where people are
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living in substandard private housing (and lets face
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it most of us are) local authorities will be allowed
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to refurbish and extend these houses. However, before
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you all rush out your local county council, remember
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that in 1990 Dublin Corporation refurbished only 189
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of it's own properties never mind those in private
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hands.
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The second solution on offer it " a co-op ownership
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scheme", the theory being that you buy 50% of a
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private house and the Council buys the other 50%.
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This plan would encourage the more lower income house
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holders , well that's the theory, but it's never been
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put into practice as not even one co-op schemes has
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so far been authorised.
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Thrown in for good measure is a $3,300 mortgage
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subsidy to tenants of public housing if they buy a
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private house, though at today's house prices buying a
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lottery ticket might be a more realistic bet.
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A caring government????
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Ninety per cent of the cost of housing unit provided
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by voluntary organisations will be met by the
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Exchequer. So, why you might ask, if the government
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can fund 90% of housing needs, will it not fund the
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full 100%. If did this it would be admitting it
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had some responsibility to the homeless people, to the
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old and one-parent families. By funding up to 90%
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it'll be reported (as it was in the Irish
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Times)Voluntary housing and co-operative housing will
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get a boost under the plan, the Government is seen to
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help the voluntary organisations out with their
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problems, so the problem of homeless is laid at the
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feet of the voluntary agencies not being able to cope,
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rather than at the feet of the Government which has no
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intention of doing anything about it.
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Padraig O'Flynn's idea of a joke
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Additionally, in February we were also promised a new
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Housing Bill. At the moment this doesn't look much
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like it's going to appear, but if it does there's all
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sorts of things to look forward to. For instance,
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it'll be mandatory for landlords to give rent books
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who will become entitled to four weeks notice to quit
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( at the moment your legally entitled to one week).
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This is pretty much like the way it's illegal for
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flats at the moment to be fire traps, and landlord are
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meant to give deposits back. These rent book will
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have to by law (now isn't that useful)
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include a substantially amount of information about
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the letting and minimum standards of accommodation.
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Your landlord meanwhile can set the cost of building
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new dwellings against tax liabilities, so at least
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somebody will gain concretely from the government
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plan.
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So what's it all about
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So what we have in effect is a lot of talk to disguise
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the fact that no new houses are going to be built. In
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the mid 1984 state expenditure on housing was over
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<EFBFBD>207 million per year. By 1990 it had fallen to <20>48
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million. In February it was reported as if it was
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some great concession that <20>28 million was going to
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be spent on implementing the plan. 160 acres of city
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centre land is derelict and could be used for public
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housing. There are 5,000 actual homeless people
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(living on the streets or in hostels) in the republic
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of Ireland.
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Obviously a major local authority building plan is
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needed at once. Threshold estimate that at least
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1,000 new homes are needed per annum to stabilise the
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situation in the Dublin area alone. Much of the
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existing housing stock is in need of refurbishment.
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However government policy at the moment has lead to
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primarily office and commercial development, with
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limited private residential development at the upper
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range of the market ( how many people can afford 2
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bedroomed flats at $65,000?). In the final analysis
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the "plan for Social Housing" is nothing more than an
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attempt to side-step and avoid the problems of
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homeless. Remember after food, shelter is one of the
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most basic human needs, it's even guarantied by the UN
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Human Rights Charter. But then when is comes to the
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needs of the ordinary person that's capitalism, if
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it's not going to turn a profit all you'll get is
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talk.
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