Paul Murphy Blames Landlords and Vulture Funds for Homelessness
Paul Murphy criticised attempts to blame the housing crisis on refugees and called for emergency action to protect tenants. He argued the primary responsibility lies with landlords, developers and US and European vulture funds and REITs, and urged public ownership of Shannon Arms to safeguard families facing eviction.
Challenge to scapegoating
He condemned what he called a "disgusting" attempt by elements of the far right to divide communities by blaming refugees from Ukraine and elsewhere for the housing crisis. He also pressed the minister to clarify reported radio comments that people from EEA and non-EEA countries were immediately being placed on homeless lists.
Causes of homelessness
He rejected scapegoating and pointed to the ending of the eviction ban as the clear driver of the explosion in homelessness, saying the rise in numbers can be traced to when the eviction ban ended. He placed responsibility on Irish landlords, developers and vulture funds rather than on refugees or migrants.
Shannon Arms and tenant resistance
He cited the case of more than 20 families living in Shannon Arms, Limerick, who face eviction by a consortium of landlords including Supermax Millionaire Pat McDonough. He said those tenants include a family from Ukraine and a family from Syria, that some have already been made homeless, and that tenants are now organised and resisting the evictions.
Accusations about landlord practices
He accused Pat McDonough of masking evictions as renovations, doubling up occupancy and reintroducing tenements to squeeze more rent, and warned that evicted tenants could end up placed in the local hotel he owns. He noted the Taoiseach had appealed to landlords not to evict, but said those appeals had not been heeded.
Call for public ownership and immediate action
He appealed to the minister and the Taoiseach to act now rather than offer more empty words, calling for Shannon Arms to be brought into public ownership so tenants can be protected, the block can house others in need and conditions and community cohesion can be improved.
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Deputy Paul Murphy I just want to start by countering the disgusting attempt by some in the far right to divide and rule, to try to blame the housing crisis on refugees from Ukraine or elsewhere. I also do want to call on the Minister. He shook his head vigorously when it was mentioned a moment ago and said that he didn't say what he was reported as being said. But he should then clarify his comments, because what certainly seemed to be said on the radio was that an important cause of the increase in homelessness was that people were coming from EEA and non-EEA countries and were immediately going on the homeless list. As opposed to the very obvious reason for the explosion of homelessness, which is the ending of the eviction ban, which you can just trace the numbers of the ending of the eviction ban that the numbers of homelessness rises back again. The real people responsible for the housing crisis are Irish landlords, their developers and their US and European vulture funds and REITs. We need to be fighting for emergency action to provide decent housing for all. A month ago I raised with the Taoiseach the case of over 20 families in Shannon Arms in Limerick, facing eviction by a consortium of landlords, including Supermax Millionaire Pat McDonough. We know now that these tenants include a family from Ukraine who have been living in Ireland for the last number of years, as well as a family from Syria. The far right want to sow division, want to have neighbour blaming neighbour, but the only person who benefits from this are the millionaire slumlords like Pat McDonough. What we actually need is to build solidarity among neighbours, among all working class people, to stand up to the landlords and refuse to be bullied out of their homes. Some people have already been kicked out and are homeless, others are facing eviction in a matter of weeks, but the tenants are now organised and are resisting these evictions. Pat McDonough is masking his evictions as renovations and is doubling up the occupancy of apartments, reintroducing tenements to squeeze out more money from them. Scandalously, if he succeeds in making them homeless, some of them could end up being put up by the State in the local hotel that he owns. Last month, the Taoiseach appealed to the landlords not to evict the families, but they have not listened. I would now appeal to the Minister and the Taoiseach to take action now, not just more empty words. Bring the Shannon Arms into public ownership so the tenants can be protected and it can be used to house others in need and vestedness to improve conditions and strengthen the community there.
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