Public meeting on homelessness

A public meeting on the impact of the housing crisis on the people of Meath and the commuter belt will take place in the Ardboyne Hotel, Navan on Wednesday, 18th February at 7pm.
The event, which is organised by SIPTU Meath District Council, will be addressed by housing expert and lecturer in political geography at Maynooth University, Rory Hearne.
“The emergency is for those who need, want, and have a right to a secure and affordable home in a safe and sustainable community,” Rory Hearne said.

“We can see that the last two decades of housing policy which was based on promoting homeownership and the private property market as its priority failed to deliver this.

“Continuing these policies will only worsen the housing crisis and condemn further generations to homelessness, poverty and punitive and enslaving mortgage debt.”
SIPTU Meath District Council President, Anton McCabe, who will chair the event, said that the local council could assist in easing the housing crisis.
“The council needs to prioritise the refurbishing of boarded up dwellings throughout the county. This move alone would have a major impact in addressing the crisis,” he said.
SIPTU Meath District Council Secretary, John Regan, said: “This meeting is the launch of a wider strategy which will see SIPTU in Meath and elsewhere taking the initiative on seeking to promote solutions to the housing crisis. We will be seeking to encourage increased public engagement on this issue and to ensure it is to the fore in county Meath at the upcoming election.”
“Key to this widening of the public debate on solving the housing crisis is the new housing policy recently announced by the SIPTU National Executive Council. 'At the meeting the solutions presented in this document will be outlined and discussed.”