O’Devaney Gardens- Sell Out On Public Land by FF, Greens and Labour

dublin | housing | press release Thursday November 07, 2019 00:31 by pbp - People Before Profit

Press Release - People Before Profit 5th Nov 2019

Councilors from Fianna Fail, Green Party, Labour and Social Democrats have agreed to give land at O Devaney Gardens to Bartra Capital.

O Devaney Gardens was a working class flat complex on the edge of the Phoenix Park. For decades, it was run down by Dublin City Council and requests by tenants for proper maintenance were ignored.

Dublin City Council officials typically neglect inner city housing complexes in the hope that they can eventually move out the residents and turn them into posh private apartments.

The Fianna Fail-Green-Labour–Social Democrat coalition that run Dublin City Council complied with this disgraceful strategy.

O’Devaney Gardens- Sell Out On Public Land

Councilors from Fianna Fail, Green Party, Labour and Social Democrats have agreed to give land at O Devaney Gardens to Bartra Capital.

O Devaney Gardens was a working class flat complex on the edge of the Phoenix Park. For decades, it was run down by Dublin City Council and requests by tenants for proper maintenance were ignored.

Dublin City Council officials typically neglect inner city housing complexes in the hope that they can eventually move out the residents and turn them into posh private apartments.

The Fianna Fail-Green-Labour–Social Democrat coalition that run Dublin City Council complied with this disgraceful strategy.

They are letting Bartra build 768 houses and apartments on the site. Half of these will be private and these will fetch a very high price because of its location.

20% are set to be affordable. But the council’s definition of affordable is a house that costs 310,000 euros. That is nine times the average annual wage –and is not ‘affordable’ to the majority.

Another 30% are ring-fenced for social housing – but Bartra will charge the council high fees to build these.

The majority coalition held a private meeting with Bartra and were given a vague promise that some of the private houses would be sold to an approved housing body. However, in the actual resolution that was passed, this was presented as a ‘request’ from an elected council to a private-for-profit company.

Bartra, which is led by Richard Barret, is one of the most profit hungry companies now operating in Dublin’s housing market. In Dun Laoghaire, for example, they are pushing a scheme of ‘co-living’ where up to 40 people will have to share a communal kitchen.

By agreeing to this disgraceful deal, the Green and the Social Democrats join Labour in the long list of parties that sell out working class people. Their vote is a signal of what will happen on a national level.

The votes of Labour, Green and Social Democrats will be used to prop up a Fianna Fail led coalition.

We have been warned.