There will be a new name and logo on the ballot papers in the coming local elections.
The Housing Rights & Reform Alliance has launched it’s website today, at www.HousingRights.ie, and invites members of the public to join up.
The Alliance is registered to contest local elections, and wants to focus on two main areas of public concern:
- Lack of public and affordable housing, high rents, security of tenancy, lack of enforcement of housing standards (both in the public and the private rental sector), evictions, the activity of vulture funds and homelessness.
- Local Authorities need REFORM, from top to bottom, transparency and accountability needs to be established and the monopoly of the Political Party elite broken. Councils must stop wasting millions of Euro on ‘grand projects’ and focus instead on delivering services to community.
The days of junkets, bad management and squandering public money must end.
Cllr Diarmaid Ó Cadhla, member of Cork County Council, is national secretary of the new Alliance, he says:
“Housing is a core function of our Councils, but they have failed on every level to address the crisis. Excuses offered by local authorities, claiming that their hands are tried by government, just don’t wash. Our Councillors have acted as mere ‘Noddies’ to Government policy, obedient lapdogs, doing what management and government tells them.”
“We need social and affordable housing urgently. We need enforcement of the legal Minimum Standards in rented accommodation. Officially, over 95% of private tenancies are below standard, and older social housing rentals aren’t much better, there is appalling neglect.”
“Local Councils should hunt down the rogue landlords and Approved Housing Agencies that leave people to live in sub-standard conditions. We need to be proactive in protecting families who leave in fear of eviction, we need to abolish rack rents.”
The Housing Rights & Reform Alliance does not have a ‘whip’ system, it is an alliance of independent candidates agreed on a common approach in the coming elections.
Members of the public are invited to join the alliance, it is hoped that member subscriptions will finance the electoral effort.
An official launch event will be organised later with more details of the Alliance’s electoral manifesto and to meet some of the candidates.