Taoiseach to receive 40,000 postcards as part of housing protest

The Taoiseach is to receive up to 40,000 postcards through the post in protest at the shortfall in local authority housing.

Focus Ireland have launched the campaign in Dublin with a six foot version of the postcard calling for urgent action from the Taoiseach on the housing crisis, which they believe is also linked to homelessness.

Among the calls by Focus Ireland are for more funding for social housing, and to ensure that strategies implemented across all local authorities do not force children and families to live in bed and breakfast accommodation.

The six-foot, yellow postcard, titled, 'Housing Crisis in Ireland-The Figures Just Don't Add up', claims there are over 45,000 households on local authority waiting lists but just over 4000 were provided between local authorities and the voluntary sector.

Launching the campaign life president of Focus Ireland, Sister Stanislaus Kennedy said: "The scale of homelessness continues to rise. This is totally unacceptable in today's wealthy society."

Focus Ireland say the reason many people on low incomes live in inadequate accommodation is because private developers are reluctant to fulfill their legal obligation of including 20 percent of social affordable housing in their private developments.

Chief Executive of Focus Ireland, Declan Jones said: "The Government needs to take more urgent action to ensure more houses and suitable emergency accommodation are produced to reduce homelessness and the housing waiting lists otherwise you may as well whistle in the wind."

Focus Ireland hopes members of the public will complete the postcard posted through their post boxes and return it to them, they will then deliver these en masse to the Taoiseach.