People Before Profit condemns the arson attack on the former premises of the Shipwright pub in Ringsend.
This follows a similar pattern of numerous attacks carried out by fascist forces as they seek to whip up hatred in local communities.
For the past few weeks, small protests have been called at the building, with the usual catch cry that it will be used by ‘unvetted men’.
This is a typical scare story that bears little resemblance to the truth.
The local branch of People Before Profit contacted the Dublin Regional Housing Executive to ascertain their plans for the building. They gave us a written reply which stated that
‘DRHE has been in negotiation with the owners of Shipwright to accommodate families that present as homeless in the Dublin Region. It is anticipated the building would be available for use in Q1 2024.’
The arson attack was therefore directed at a future homeless shelter. It is immaterial to us who exactly was to be accommodated in this shelter.
However, we have now reached a new low where fascist groups pretend to be concerned about the housing crisis but their actions in Ringsend show otherwise.
Ringsend has a housing crisis and for years people have campaigned for the site of the old Irish Bottle Site to be used for social and affordable homes. Despite the best efforts of local people, the site has been handed to a developer who will charge extortionate prices. Yet again people in Ringsend will be priced out of areas where they were born.
Instead of picking on vulnerable homeless people, our anger should be focused on a government that has failed to take sites like the Irish Glass Bottle site under public control and use them to build homes for people.
