“Three Month Eviction Moratorium Not Enough” Ciarán O’Brien

Yesterday, political parties in the Six Counties debated the introduction of a moratorium on evictions during the current crisis, much of which weighed up the rights of tenants, against the rights of property hoarders. 

“COVID-19 has laid bare a multitude of contradictions across the capitalist system,” says Ciarán O’Brien, spokesperson for Lasair Dhearg, “but it has also further proven the paramount danger that partition and occupation poses to the people of the Six Counties.” 

“Housing has remained an unanswerable question for the sectarian statelet since birth. Whilst housing under capitalism remains a commodity to be bought, sold and profited from unscrupulously, under British occupation housing in Ireland has additionally been a tool for sectarian divide, rule, and political domination.”

Ciarán said that, “Despite claims of peace, a fresh start, a new beginning and now a new decade, Stormont has proven incapable of addressing the everyday life threatening issues that face families across the state.”

“It has failed to counter the sectarian distribution of housing for political gerrymandering. It has failed to address rampant landlordism and rising rents. It has failed in prioritising the use of land for social housing over the profits of the hotel owners and supermarket financiers.”

“Now,” he says, “COVID-19 has laid bare the landlords and their allies that sit inside Stormont.” 

“Yesterday, despite the clear demands from housing activists and tenants over the last number of weeks to resolve the issues of rising rent arrears caused by lockdown though a rent suspension, the ruling parties of Stormont answered that this was not possible and raged at those who sought to advance the rights of tenants over landlords.”

“Why so-called ‘republicans’ in the assembly were more outraged with those attempting to amend their bill which is ‘fair to the property rights of landlords’, than with the clear villain in this story, British rule in Ireland, is baffling.”

Ciarán said that, “a Stormont three month ‘eviction moratorium’ only kicks the ball down a not too distant path.”

“When it comes to properly protecting the most vulnerable in our society, it is clear now more than ever: STORMONT CAN’T DELIVER!”