Jimmy Dignam, the Workers’ Party representative for Santry and Beaumont, has slammed the handing-over of council-owned land at Oscar Traynor Road to a private developer.

Jimmy Dignam, Workers Party Dublin North West

Dignam said, ‘There are thousands of working-class families on the council waiting list, living in the north-east and north-west areas of Dublin, who are in dire need of good quality social housing. As a result of this appalling decision, only 219 of the 655 units built on the site will now be directly social housing.’

Dignam criticised the decision to give a long-term lease to the developer at a low return to the council, saying, ‘Instead of directly providing these families with accommodation, the decision of Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, Labour and Sinn Féin Councillors to agree to lease this land means that it will be mostly private dwellings that are built on the site. This is a continuation of the same failed policies that led to the housing crisis in the first place, with the housing sector being left in private control.’

The Workers’ Party representative concluded, ‘Instead of building social housing, with affordable rents accruing to the state, this decision will now help to line the pockets of private developers and landlords while putting housing out of the reach of many ordinary families. The priority for Dublin City Council should be to provide housing for social need, not for private profit.’