A blueprint showing how to tackle crisis

This week’s news that there are more than 10,000 people homeless in this rich country can hardly be seen as anything other than a dereliction public duty. That the appropriate response — outrage and shame — came mostly from what,

in Irish terms at least, might be called the left, suggests our commitment to social justice is another veneer covering a less attractive reality.

The Government reaction has been utterly inadequate. Thankfully, not all responses can be so described. Once again, the potency of local politics, a proactive local authority, and communal co-operation have prevailed. Cork City Council and the Clúid Housing Association have worked

together and the result is that evictions from a city centre apartment complex have been averted. The Leeside complex was bought in 2017 and residents were served with eviction notices. This episode highlights the issues behind the crisis, but it also shows what can be achieved. It underlines the grace-and-favour terms tenants face when they rent a property.

That we still allow compliant tenants to face this insecurity shows where our legislators’ loyalties lie. However, the take-home message must be that these difficulties can be overcome and positive outcomes realised. This is a good first step — maybe the next project might involve a local authority and a housing agency delivering homes without the involvement of those who relentlessly exploit this contrived crisis.