OPPOSITION TDS HAVE joined together and are urging people to join them for a housing crisis rally outside the Dáil next month.

Sinn Féin TD and housing spokesperson Eoin Ó Broin likened the rally to the water protests and called on people to “come out” and “stand up to the Government”. 

TDs from Sinn Féin, Labour, the Social Democrats and People Before Profit today jointly launched the initiative, which will take place under the banner of Raise the Roof, a trade and civil union-led campaign on housing. 

The rally will take place outside the Dáil at 6pm on Tuesday 17 June, to coincide with a joint motion from the Opposition on the housing crisis. 

The details of that motion have not yet been revealed by the parties. 

Speaking today outside Leinster House, Ó Broin said: 

“The reason why we’re doing this now is [because] across the State, in every constituency, there is a growing anger and growing frustration at a government that has completely abandoned communities.”

“Rents are rising, house prices are rising, homelessness is rising. The Government are missing all of their targets, in particular the social and affordable housing targets. And we want to make a very, very strong call to say that this Government, this do-nothing Government is letting people down, and the only way we’re going to tackle this crisis is with emergency action,” he added. 

Social Democrats TD and housing spokesperson Rory Hearne said the Government has “completely failed to treat this crisis like an emergency”. 

Labour TD Marie Sherlock added: “The reality is the level of despair out there is absolutely incredible at this stage.”

She said there is now a degree of “fatalism” that housing will not be fixed.

“It has to be because we’re losing a whole generation of people. People leaving this city and, of course, across the country, emigrating because they don’t see a future here in Ireland,” she said. 

People Before Profit TD Paul Murphy said: “What we’re saying to all those people who are stuck at home in the family home with no prospect of buying a house, people who are paying extraordinary amounts of rent with effectively nothing left at the end of the month, those people who are in horrific conditions in emergency accommodation is we simply cannot wait until the next general election.”

He added: “We need all those people who are affected by the housing crisis to come together, like the political parties are coming together, like the trade unions are coming together in a massive show of people power to put pressure on the Government for a radical change of direction. We need to declare a housing emergency.”