Galway West by-election candidate Denman Rooke has slammed former Fianna Fáil councillor-turned-Independent Ireland candidate Noel Thomas for putting tourists ahead of the people of Ireland.
Rooke was reacting to Thomas’s opposition to the Short Term Lets Bill, which Thomas called an “attack” on the “vital” hospitality sector. The Bill seeks to regulate the AirBnB market by introducing a register for short-term lets. At present, unregulated short-term letting platforms are stripping thousands of potential homes from the market.
“At the height of a housing crisis, it beggars belief that Noel Thomas would now be pushing for properties to sit empty for much of the year simply so that landlords can rake in a profit over the summer months,” said Rooke. “Is he really calling for hospitality for tourists but not for the people who live in Ireland?”
Rooke continued, “Moreover, does Noel Thomas expect people to simply forget that he was a Fianna Fáil councillor for 10+ years, and that Fianna Fáil are the reason that there are now almost 300 homeless people in Galway City and County, with 197 of them being children?”
Rooke pointed out that only last month HAP recipients could not afford to rent a single property in Galway, Limerick or Waterford city centres. He also highlighted how the number of people of retirement age facing homelessness is increasing all the time.
“It’s not just that Noel Thomas happily supported Fianna Fáil, but that he himself actively contributed to the housing crisis. For example, as a Fianna Fáil councillor, he vehemently opposed the construction of social housing in Moycullen. Clearly he didn’t want the construction of homes for the socioeconomically deprived in his backyard,” explained Rooke, adding, that “On the other hand he had nothing to say about his former Fianna Fáil colleague Seamus Walsh’s son building a home without planning permission, which curiously seemed to escape council attention.”
“Noel Thomas may have switched parties, but his politics haven't changed. That’s why his new party, Independent Ireland, is half-filled with ex-Fianna Fáilers who take their marching orders from business and landlords. After all, it was revealed only recently that Independent Ireland literally copy-pasted amendments to the Rental Tenancies Bill from the landlord lobby group the Irish Property Owners Association (IPOA).”
People Before Profit are calling for a ban on whole-home, non-principal residence Short Term Rentals, and stress that housing should be prioritized for long-term secure tenancies rather than short-term tourism profits.
For real change instead of more of the same, vote for Denman Rooke People Before Profit and then Transfer Left.
Denman Rooke Slams Noel Thomas for “More of the Same” Fianna Fáil Politics
Independent Ireland's Noel Thomas is a 10-year Fianna Fáil councillor. "But his politics haven't changed." says Denman Rooke. "That’s why his new party, Independent Ireland, is half-filled with ex-Fianna Fáilers who take their marching orders from business and landlords."
