Sinn Féin conspired to hand over O’Devaney Gardens to private profiteers. Complaining about the results is sheer hypocrisy, says Garrett Greene, Workers’ Party representative for Cabra-Glasnevin.

Greene said: “Sinn Féin housing spokesperson Eoin Ó Broin has expressed outrage at the rents set for the so-called affordable, cost-rental housing units in O’Devaney Gardens. However, this is exactly what Sinn Féin were warned would happen when they conspired with the government parties and the Social Democrats on Dublin City Council to hand the former social housing site over to private developers.”

“In 2016, Workers’ Party councillor Éilis Ryan fought for and won a guarantee that O’Devaney Gardens would be redeveloped for mixed-income public housing. This was supported by former residents, who had been promised they could return after redevelopment. Unfortunately, other councillors, including Sinn Féin’s Janice Boylan and Gary Gannon of the Social Democrats, made a backdoor deal with the Fine Gael housing minister to overrule the decision and hand the public lands at O’Devaney Gardens over to developers Bartra for free.”

“They were warned by the Workers’ Party and others that this deal would result in the original residents being priced out, and that O’Devaney Gardens would be turned into just another build-to-rent cash cow. Having got what they wanted at the time, they now claim innocence and outrage. Sinn Féin argued that they believed the promises of developers, who swore they would forego higher profits to keep the new units affordable. If Sinn Féin or the Social Democrats are really so innocent as to believe such promises, they will be eaten alive in government.”