Meanwhile, In Castleknock

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Newstalk reports:

“Dublin West TD, Ruth Coppinger, along with three Anti-Austerity councillors are currently occupying a NAMA housing estate under construction at Diswellstown Manor site. She’s calling on NAMA to make the units social and affordable homes.”

“Deputy Coppinger said that she, along with 25 homeless families from the local area and some local people, have occupied one of the NAMA homes that have been built.”

“‘This housing estate has about 120 houses and it’s going to be sold on the open market for a very high price but yet we have 120 homeless families in Blanchardstown alone in emergency accommodation.'”

Ruth Coppinger and three Anti-Austerity councillors are currently occupying a NAMA housing estate (Newstalk)

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51 thoughts on “Meanwhile, In Castleknock

  1. Rob_G

    Not to say that she doesn’t have a point, but surely that wouldn’t be within Nama’s remit? Nama’s job is to get as much money as possible for the properties on its books; presumably housing the people of Fingal should be the job Fingal CoCo?

        1. Wayne.F

          Because she believes in failed extremest socialist ideologies and that the laws of our state do not apply to here when it suits her. In fairness I probably should not have offended clowns to illustrate my point.

          1. scottser

            Law is supposed to serve the rights of citizens over private property. We are all supposed to be equal under the law, and we are all supposed to be protected by it. These arent socialist principles, they are democratic ones.

        2. Padi

          She recently spoke with horror on the issue of people having to ‘self-accommodate’…therefore she’s a clown.

    1. Anne

      And..
      http://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/housing-crisis-why-nama-should-be-asked-to-do-more-to-alleviate-the-shortage-1.2017674

      “The uncomfortable truth is that those who will benefit most from Government housing policy, and Nama in particular, are international wealthy investors and banks, developers and landlords – and not the ordinary Irish people who have paid dearly for the write-downs on development loans transferred to Nama.
      The reality is that Nama is playing a significant role in worsening the housing crisis through its sale of assets to real estate investment trusts (REITs).

      Nama’s mandate
      Although we don’t hear much about it, Nama has a mandate to “contribute to the social and economic development of the State”. It achieves this through its provision of social housing, yet only 736 units have been delivered. The new housing strategy includes an expansion of Nama’s special purpose vehicle set up to sell or lease Nama residential properties for social housing, but only plans to deliver 2,250 units by 2020.
      Nama’s trajectory is wrong if we want to develop a sustainable economy and society. Its need for rental growth is likely to be one of the reasons the Government is refusing to give private tenants (the majority of those on social housing lists) relief through rent controls. By pushing for maximum commercial returns, Nama is working against the interests of those looking for an affordable and secure home. It is continuing the speculative-asset approach to housing that fuelled the crisis. This promotes residential property as a commodity rather than a social good.

      1. Anne

        “Nama is facilitating a massive transfer of wealth created by the Irish people to foreign and domestic capitalist investors. It exemplifies all that is wrong with the current model of financial neoliberal capitalism. Rather than investing in the “real” economy and social requirements, it is promoting speculative finance….

        Such a social stimulus could help repair the societal damage caused during the crisis. If this means Nama doesn’t make a profit, it is important to highlight that those most affected will be the private (mainly international) investors.
        When our financial system was in peril there was no obstacle too large for the State to overcome. Now we face an equivalent crisis in housing needs. It is legitimate to ask why the same radical approach is not applied to the housing crisis. It appears the Government is unwilling to stand up to the financial and property investors.

  2. Spaghetti Hoop

    This should be directed to the Dept. of Social Protection, not NAMA.
    Also, homeless families from Blanch are not going to be-housed for free in Castleknock. Get real.

    1. David j

      This is in Castleknock* not Castleknock, if you get what I mean. The boundaries of what is Castleknock were blurred many years ago by developers looking to get a few extra grand out of people looking for social status through their address. I know a great many people from Carpentersrown, Diswellstown and Roselawn who swear they are in Castleknock. Soon Clonee will be in Castleknock, just you wait.

      1. Spaghetti Hoop

        Oh yes of course. In the 90s, boundaries would shift overnight between Lucan and Clondalkin in LiamLawlor-esque fashion.

  3. David j

    I live in Dublin 15 and the last thing we need is more council estates. I live beside one such estate and when 2 cars were stolen from my estate (along with a spate of burglaries) in July, guess where they were found? In the council estate. Luckily two people were arrested and the cars returned, the goods that were robbed along with the cars were not.

    1. Disasta

      If you live beside a council estate you don’t really live in Castleknock, you live somewhere with the Castleknock name in it. There are no council estates in Castlekock.

      1. Mr. T.

        “There are no council estates in Castleknock.”

        Don’t worry, you’re fierce posh living in Castleknock. It’s alright, we know there’s no council houses. You can look down upon others in confidence.

    2. Anomanomanom

      Social housing in this county is an utter failure. They pull down old flats ruined by the dwellers and build houses, if on the open market would be €250,000+, and put the people who wrecked the flats in the houses. It’s the people that’s the problem, social housing should be like private housing, if you act the bollix you get thrown out. Unfortunately that doesn’t happen.

      1. Mr. T.

        “It’s the people that’s the problem”

        Yeah they just appeared out of nowhere didn’t they? They had all the opportunities and connections in business etc to get a fair go at life didn’t they? Did they f**k.

        They are a symptom of deliberately divisive policies over generations in this country.

  4. Paddy

    Free this, free that is the mantra of these people. What ever happened to work to provide for the needs of your family?

    1. Spaghetti Hoop

      +1.
      During the First World War, able-bodied men leading civilian lives had white feathers thrown at them for not being at the Front. I always think of that when I see the lads and girls sitting outside of their rent-paid houses in their pyjamas with fag in mouth and the 42″ TV on.

      1. Sam

        Not really a fair comparison.
        The people throwing the white feathers were @r$eholes.
        Also the number of people milking the system and making no effort is not as high as some would have you believe.
        I’d have much more contempt for the people who got paid 100 cents on the euro for unsecured bonds that they bought for a fraction of the cost, and are laughing it up while the rest of us struggle to make ends meet, and the homeless problem continues to fester.
        Not everyone receiving social welfare payments or waiting for housing is an idle laybout.

        1. Neilo

          It’s plenty friggin’ high – never any shortage of buroohawks outside the labour exchanges or filling the bookies.

          1. Sam

            Out of how many though? I’ve lived and worked in areas with high unemployment and I’ve seen people whose work ethic and initiative and sense of community spirit would put many to shame.
            I’ve seen complete chancers as well, I don’t deny that, but they are merely the most visible, not the norm.
            Meanwhile, someone who ripped off the country wholesale gets a free pass despite their drain on the public purse being magnitudes higher than the level of fraud in social welfare.

  5. Neilo

    Give something, get nothing. Give nothing, get everything. The Expropriation Game with your host, Ruth ‘Socialism Has Yet To Be Perfected’ Coppinger. Didn’t she do well?

  6. Kevin M

    . She’s calling on NAMA to make the units social and affordable homes.”

    I think some folks missed that in the article.

  7. Neilo

    NAMA’s remit is to get in as much money for the Exchequer as it can. No role to play in housing provision.

  8. Neilo

    If Mick Wallace told me the time, I’d need corroboration from a third party but it never hurts to keep a watching brief over NAMA.

  9. tomkildare

    What about the people that bought the gaffs for 350-450 in the same estate during the boom, would making the rest of the estate a council estate be fair on them? where is the compensation for futher devalue there homes they would never leave negative equity

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