Dublin councillors have condemned Tanaiste Simon Harris for his “baseless claim” that a “significant number” of those in emergency accommodation “don’t have a housing right in Ireland”
Tanaiste Simon Harris(Image: )
Dublin councillors have called out Simon Harris for “scapegoating” migrants, spreading misinformation, and deflecting government responsibility for the housing crisis.
At yesterday’s monthly meeting of Dublin City Council, Labour Councillor Darragh Moriarty called out the Tanaiste for his “baseless claim” that a “significant number” of those in emergency accommodation “don’t have a housing right in Ireland.”
The motion was co-signed by People Before Profit, Sinn Fein, and Social Democrats and condemned Mr Harris’s “blatant effort to scapegoat and demonise migrants for his Government’s decade and a half of failure to meaningfully address the housing and homelessness crisis.”
Cllr Moriarty called on councillors to fully support the position outlined by chief executive of the Dublin Region Homeless Executive (DRHE) Mary Hayes in an Irish Times article that “anyone who presents for and is provided emergency accommodation has a right to housing or establishes that right very quickly.” “If they can’t establish a right to housing they don’t get emergency accommodation and are sent on their way,” Ms Hayes explained.
“The main driver of family homelessness continues to be notices of termination from private rental, and the main driver of single homelessness is [refugees or people with leave to remain] leaving direct provision in the preceding eight months,” the DRHE’s October report said.
The article stated that “the main driver of spiralling homelessness figures is not migrants” but an ongoing “crisis in the private rental market.” Cllr Moriarty criticised Mr Harris for “punching at people living in homeless and emergency accommodation.”
“Those are deeply reckless comments which are very dangerous in a context where we have IPAS accommodation being subject to arson attacks because of the level of rising tension over immigration issues in this country,” he said.
He called out Mr Harris for his “absolutely shameless” finger pointing about a crisis that he himself “has presided over the last decade and a half.” Cllr Moriarty’s motion received a round of applause from the council, but not everyone was so supportive.
Protestors in Saggart set a Garda van alight(Image: Collins)
Independent Cllr Malachy Steenson said he agrees with Mr Harris’s comments and voiced his belief that “no non-nationals in this state should be provided with accommodation ahead of nationals.” Cllr Mannix Flynn stressed the importance of being “very careful in this particular debate because it can cause major confusion and give rise to further attacks on vulnerable people.”
“At the end of the day these are all human beings who are entitled to compassion, asylum, and protection irrespective of their lack of rights to housing accommodation in terms of Dublin City Council, so I ask everyone to be very careful here and not to inflame an already dangerous situation,” he said.
However, the majority of councillors unequivocally supported the motion with Sinn Fein Cllr Daithi Doolan praising Ms Hayes and the DRHE for the accuracy of their reports. “Every report for as long as I can remember clearly points to the crisis in housing is because private landlords are evicting people into homelessness,” he said.
“The statistics have to be shared, some councillors need to read them and believe them, and we need to appeal to this Tanaiste and government that we need to stop the mischief making and misleading.”
Green Party Cllr Janet Horner stressed the “serious implications” of ministers putting out a “false narrative” and the real impact this has on people in “highly vulnerable situations.” “Most especially children that we see across the board who are suffering from so many different intersections of oppression between racism and homelessness and a range of different factors,” she said.
Fine Gael Cllr Danny Byrne said that his party recognises that “everyone who presents as homeless should be accommodated immediately.” He said that this applied to those “without legal immigration status” as they should be provided with accommodation “to prevent rough sleeping.” However, he said that “access to long-term housing support depends on lawful residence.”
The “falsehoods coming from the leaders of our country” are not right according to Social Democrats Cllr Cat O’Driscoll who called Mr Harris’s comments “deeply unfair.” She stressed that “housing is a human right and every human deserves to be treated with dignity.”
Independent Councillor Gavin Pepper expressed his frustration about being “frozen out” during the meeting. While a 30-second limit was placed on responses to the motion, Cllr Pepper claims the rule was applied inconsistently. In response, he shared his planned statement with Dublin Live:
“There are now nearly 17,000 people homeless. These are not statistics – they are children doing homework in hotel rooms, parents skipping meals so their kids can eat, and people sleeping in doorways. We are only in the second week of the new year, and already two rough sleepers have lost their lives,” he stated.
“Every night, people sleep rough while large buildings sit empty – offices, hotels, and vacant properties left vacant for profit. Why can’t we convert one of these into a walk-in service for rough sleepers? A place where people can shower, feel safe, and sleep. These are basic needs, not luxuries.
“Right now, we are failing people. We spend millions of public money, yet homelessness rises. Dublin City Council pays private operators for emergency accommodation that is often unsafe and not fit for families. HAP is failing because landlords won’t accept it and families are forced to top up rent just to survive.
“Every day people are being evicted while landlords leave the market. Vulture funds are not charging interest rates up to 8% to families in mortgage distress, pushing many of them out of their homes and straight into emergency accommodation. And through it all, we are not building enough social housing. Because no one should die homeless. No child should grow up without a stable home. And no family should be punished for being poor. With nearly 17,000 homeless, up to half of these are migrants, which is clear to see that immigration clearly has an impact on the homeless crisis in Ireland.”
Cllr Moriarty’s motion was passed and has called on Lord Mayor Ray McAdam to write to Simon Harris to defend the position of the Dublin Region Homeless Executive and “call out the Tanaiste’s blatant attempts to blame migrants for his Government’s own failings.”
This content is funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme
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