Following a Public Housing whistle-stop tour of Dublin by bike the Green Party's MEP candidate for Dublin Ciarán Cuffe called for the resignation of Minister Eoghan Murphy after his comments at yesterday's housing conference that 'shoebox apartments' sharing a kitchen with 42 bedrooms offered an 'exciting choice' to young people.

Cllr Cuffe said:

"Minister Murphy's comments are inexcusable. He is out of touch with what is happening in Dublin, he must resign. There is a lost generation sleeping on couches and in homeless accommodation who will be outraged at these remarks.

"We are in a housing crisis, we need to build and we need capable leadership at home and in Europe to deliver housing in the numbers needed to tackle the crisis

The tour was organised to draw attention to the Housing Crisis in Dublin and the need to build public housing, including the Vienna cost-rental model which provides housing for people on a range of incomes under the one roof

Cllr Cuffe said:

“This tour visited quality housing that has been provided in Dublin over the last 100 years, and suggested steps that are needed to address the city's housing needs. We're in a housing crisis, we need to build. The tour highlighted good examples of public housing from the past and present from the City Council's own housing stock as well as housing provided by the Iveagh Trust and others.

"The housing ranged from two to ten stories, and from the 1890s to today. We must dramatically increase social housing output as we did in the past. We highlighted the role of EU policy and agencies in addressing the housing crisis in Dublin and other European cities. Good housing integrates people of different incomes and ages in the same neighbourhood.

“If elected I will work with European Investment Bank, Semi-state Pension funds, and credit unions to deliver housing. I also intend working with DG Regio to deliver on the Housing Partnership Action Plan that came out of the Urban Agenda for the EU.”

ENDS

Issued, 21st May 2019, Uploaded 3rd June 2019