“People in our community are homeless, sleeping on the couch and can’t pay the rent”

A community in west Donegal has come together to highlight what they say is a failure by Donegal County Council to build enough homes within the Glenties Local Authority.

A protest is planned for Thursday 25th July at 5pm at the town hall in An Clochán Liath.

“We will not sit idle while people in our community are homeless, sleeping on the couch and unable to pay rent in socio-economically deprived communities like ours,” said Rachel Ní Ghallachóir from Loch an Iúir, a spokesperson for the newly formed housing action campaign Tóg Tithe.

“On Thursday we will be gathering outside the council offices in An Clochán Liath to highlight the urgent need for housing in the Glenties Local Authority District.

“Over the past five years the council has built just six homes in the Glenties Municipal District. That is simply not good enough, especially when homelessness in the North West has reached record highs this year.”

“The housing crisis in the 26 counties has been going on for years and the situation is now dire. We hear horror stories all the time and the Fianna Fáil/Fine Gael government has allowed this to happen so that those at the top can profit from this situation.

“Since the government is not taking action for the above reason, we as a community must raise our voices and demand change.

“It’s not good enough that the council has only built six homes in this local authority area in the last five years. It’s not good enough that Airbnb is not regulated and that rents have been driven up by high demand and limited supply.

“Housing is a fundamental human right. By coming together we hope to put real pressure on Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the council to take action. We urge everyone to join us on Thursday to make our voices heard and demand that Donegal County Council prioritises building more homes for our community.

“Join us for this important protest and support the demand for more homes and fairer housing policies in Donegal and the 26 counties.”