People are Dying on the Streets, Construction is Essential, It Needs to Open up Safely
Aontú Leader & Meath West TD Peadar Tóibín has called on the government to clarify when the construction of homes will be allowed to return, as people continue to die from Homelessness .An Teachta Tóibín:
“There has been an unprecedented spike in the number of homeless people who have died in Homelessness this year. Figures I have received from the Dublin Regional Homeless Executive showed that in Dublin alone nearly 70 people lost their lives. The Housing Crisis has not gone away. It maybe eclipsed by Covid at the moment but for many families it is a continuing disaster in their lives. The severity housing crisis continues unabated, worsening in many respects as houses prices and rents continue to rise and supply is severely restricted”.
“We need a construction sector on the other side of Covid. The viability of the whole construction sector is increasingly in question. Jobs are in danger and complete projects could get pulled entirely. This does not bode well for our already disastrous and dysfunctional housing market. The cessation construction has decimated supply of homes to an already under-supplied housing market. Its estimated that each week the sector is shut results in 800 fewer houses being built in 2021. Failure to reopen construction safely will lead to an increase in rents, an increase in homelessness both official and unofficial and an increase in already crippling house prices.”
“The government has the resources, the personnel and the authority to both fight Covid-19 and tackle the housing crisis. We, of course, must be conscious of the threat of Covid-19 which nobody in the construction sector is taking lightly. We need to ensure that workers are protected and those who are exposed as a result of an underlying illness or having a family member with and underlying illness should not be forced to return to work”.
