Two weeks ago, housing activists occupied a building in the Liberties that has been vacant for 16 years. The former Ardee House pub is owned by Black Sheep Investments and Jack Teeling.
The activists plan on turning the building into a community centre for people living in the area. Last week a High Court Judge discontinued an order for activists to vacate the building to allow the activists time to seek legal advice.
It has been reported that the homes of activists involved in the initiative were raided by the Gardaí at the weekend.
People Before Profit TD Paul Murphy has condemned the raids on homes of activists involved in the community initiative and demanded a statement on the matter from the Minister for Justice
Paul Murphy said:
“The raids on homes of activists involved in the Anne Devlin Community Centre initiative are a disgraceful attempt to intimidate the activists involved.
“Action by community activists to occupy the building that has been vacant for 16 years, and turn it into a community centre, is a welcome initiative in an area of the city that is under siege by developers and is saturated with unwanted hotels. The building should be acquired by Dublin City Council and developed into a community centre for people in the Liberties.
“It is disgraceful that the Gardaí have become involved in facilitating a wealthy developer by intimidating community activists. The Minister for Justice must make a statement on the blatant attempt by Gardaí to intimidate activists involved in this community initiative. Did the Minister know of the raids in advance? Who took the decision to carry out such raids and why?”