The following article by Eoin Ó Murchú was first published in Unity, the weekly paper of the Irish Communist Party.
NORTH and South, the housing crises continue unabated. Amidst all the excuses we now must endure lies and pretence about the actual state of play.
For example, Taoiseach Micheál Martin breathlessly informed the nation that "our housing plan update shows clear momentum in the delivery of new homes. Key indicators are moving in the right direction, with home completions up 26% and apartments up 42%."
Great news? Well, not quite. Central Statistic Office (Oifig Daonstaidrimh) figures at the end of July show that total new dwelling completions fell – yes, fell – by 3.6% compared to the same period last year (8,823 completions vs 9,152). Apartment completions dropped sharply by 12.2% year-on-year, with the Dublin region falling back acutely with a 16.4$ decrease in completions.
And on the ground, people know what is happening and, more accurately, what is not happening.
Government dishonesty concerning housing, and almost all other issues as well, is nothing new, but Martin's deliberate attempt to pretend that the reality is not as it is, is scandalous. But even more scandalous is the fact that our "free" capitalist press does nothing to challenge the false narratives that Martin and his cohorts spew out.
It is all an effort to obfuscate and confuse the critical debate what is needed about the policy.
By pretending that we are on the way to resolve the crisis Martin hopes to avoid being confronted with the actual political choice.
And that choice is clear. The government insists that housing, building, allocating, design, should all be left to the private sector.
Whatever schemes they introduce are all designed to guarantee profit returns for investors and speculators. The housing needs of the people come way down the list. In the past, housing crises were resolved by direct state activity in house construction. The big estates in Dublin, Cork and elsewhere were built by the state employing labour directly by the state and servicing the needs of the state.
But that model left little room for the private sector greed grabbers, so that model has been determinedly rejected. But it remains the only way to deal with the issue.
And since the government won't respond we either have to put up with repeated failure, with repeated worry and misery; OR we have to fight back.
It is not enough for the trade unions to condemn the governmental failures. The working class needs to find a way to put a pressure on these people so that they must give it.
The big example is that of the Community Action Tenants' Union (CATU) which is fighting to defend tenants against rent increases at a time of cost-of-living crisis and to demand more social housing.
It is particularly encouraging to see so many young people put their energies into this struggle. But the official trades union movement needs to step up to the mark as well and take action to back up its words.
Note, that the situation isn't any different in the North despite the executive's boasts. Yes 6,000 social units are there; yes, there's a new affordable scheme giving 20% discounts on rents, but these measures only touch the edge of the problem.
The big constraint is water (as it is in the South). But everyone in Northern Ireland knows that the problem of water supply is inextricably linked to the Lough Neagh issue. Everyone knows that Lough Neagh is seriously polluted, and everyone knows that too much industrial but especially agricultural runoff is taking place. Yet nothing is done.
Of course, the North is a viciously divided society, but whether you're a Catholic who wants a United Ireland, or a Protestant who doesn't, we both need decent water. Can we not join up to fight for that?
And yes, the lack of funding from Westminster is the major cause, but only a united campaign and a united strategy can force change there.
In both areas, though, we need to break with the capitalist restraint that makes housing a commodity and not a social right. For the working class it is a social right, and a right to be enjoyed at truly affordable rates and in decent sized accommodation, not the dog boxes they foist on us.
Let's stop the capitalist housing policy and create a social one.