Deputy Bríd Smith of People Before Profit has condemned Dublin City Council plans to sell off 16% of housing (91 housing units) in St Michael’s estate in Inchicore.
This plan was announced yesterday and was totally unexpectedly at the St Michael’s Estate Consultative Forum after months and months of querying what the council had planned. Members of the Consultative Forum were completely taken by surprise.
For 21 years the community of St Michael’s Estate have been fighting to have housing developed on these public lands built for the benefit of the local community, for social and cost-affordable housing. Dublin City Council committed to developing a plan on full public ownership but have literally sold out the local community and will push a vote at the next full council on Monday 3 October meeting to sell 16% of the units.
Deputy Smith said: “The local community of St. Michael’s Estate have campaigned for 21 years to fully develop public housing on this land, and they will not give up. They were betrayed by McNamara Developers who pulled out under the Public Private Partnership and have since then been working with the council and the Department to build social and cost rental homes for the area. This latest ploy by Dublin City Council management is a disgrace and gives lie to the notion that they have been cooperating with the local community. Elected councillors must reject this latest tactic to sell what should be public housing to private developers.
“One of the key solutions to the housing crisis is to ensure that public lands must be developed in full public interest and not in the interests of profits for private developers. All 578 units promised by the Minister for St Michael’s must be fully publicly owned and local community facilities must be publicly delivered. Consecutive Housing Ministers have promised this and now DCC are pushing to renege on it. I am calling on all councillors to reject this treachery and vote against management proposals on this issue at the next council meeting.”