Galway’s People Before Profit candidates are calling for Galway City Council to be more proactive in addressing the housing crisis in the city.
People Before Profit Galway City West candidate Maisie McMaster said while she welcomed recent news that the council has applied for permission to build social and affordable housing on the Clybaun Road, it is clear that the council must do more and immediately.
“It is shocking that the modular housing in Westside is lying mostly empty since the Peter McVerry Trust pulled out and I call on the council to take over the site and house people in need urgently.”
PBP Galway City Central candidate Adrian Curran said there are regulations in place to address the housing issue but it is clear that they are not being enforced. “With the news from the Residential Tenancies Board that rents rose by over 6% in Galway in the fourth quarter of 2023, the highest rise of any city in Ireland, it is clear that action must be taken to address high rents.
“Galway City is in a rent pressure zone but councillors need to put pressure on the council and government to ensure that regulations are enforced to prevent rents being raised illegally,”Mr Curran continued.
“The council also needs to use the regulations on short-term lets to address the growing number of unregulated Airbnbs in the city. The growth of Airbnbs have massively reduced the number of houses available for people to live in and have left much of the city centre in particular hollowed out. Old neighbourhoods such as Bohermore and Shantalla risk losing their sense of community as homes are being converted into short-term rentals for tourists.”
Galway City East candidate Denman Rooke said that many of the existing Galway City councillors are landlords who benefit from the ongoing housing crisis.
“We need councillors who will stand up and fight for action on the housing crisis and to enforce the regulations to protect tenants in the city.
“This June, we need to evict the landlord parties Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, Greens and the right-wing independents who are failing to address the housing crisis and bring a new type of politics to Galway City Council,” he said.
