The plight of squatters under threat of eviction from a derelict house in Dublin’s Stoneybatter area has initiated the re-activation of a squatters’ rights lobby group.
The young occupants of the house, who have been living in the premises on and off for two years, began a protest on Tuesday 15 April after gardaí allegedly threatened to remove them.
A large banner was subsequently displayed outside the house with the slogan ‘Stop the rot, save out squat’ and the occupants offered tea and coffee to a small crowd of supporters and curious onlookers alike.
In a subsequent press release, Dublin Housing Action – reviving the name of a leftist protest movement active in the 1960s – claims to have support from activists as far away as New Zealand as well from the UK, Germany, Spain, Portugal and Slovakia.
The squatters have justified their protest by framing it within the context of the current housing problems in Ireland.
Frank Walsh, one of the protesting squatters quoted in the press release, said: “With the number of empty houses in Ireland estimated at over 300,000, with 600 ghost estates and up to 5,000 homeless people in Ireland at any one time, it makes sense that these empty houses become homes for people.”
He added: “Squatting is seen as an act of resistance: resistance against ridiculously high rents, resistance against greed and the resistance against the destruction of our communities.
“Squatting is a way of empowering people. Instead of giving money to a faceless landlord, we are taking back the city for everyone.”
The activity of the original Dublin Housing Action waned after the Prohibition of Forcible Entry Act 1971 that gave the authorities increased powers to prosecute squatters and trespassers.
The proposed new incarnation of the organisation says it will provide support to squatters and the homeless, including immigrants and people in the direct provision system, and lobby on their behalf.
At press time the Stoneybatter squatters had not yet been evicted, although at the request of neighbours they have removed the large banner from the house and toned down the protest.
