I think all councillors should vote against the sale of public land to private developers and this is what I will do. The council must build public housing on public land. 

City Managers and the Government have basically bullied councillors into voting for the sale of public land by saying nothing will be built unless it is sold to private developers. This is like saying we’ll cut off your whole hand unless you agree to cut off several fingers. I reject this framework. If more councillors did the same and channelled their energy into building a major campaign for public housing, we could begin to challenge the Government on this and force an alternative.

In terms of the bigger picture and national housing policy, I think we need a state owned construction company that will build social and affordable housing at scale.

We also need a ban on vulture funds.

I will campaign for proper rent controls that result in rent reductions. 

There are also serious issues with poor insulation, damp and mould in both private rental and social housing. We need a state-led retro-fitting programme. It needs to be on the scale of what was done for electrification by the ESB in the past. The current grant schemes, done through private companies, leave too many people unable to afford to properly insulate their homes. I know this can’t simply be done by the council without new Government policy and I will continue to campaign for this.

We also need a City inspectorate of privately rented properties that maintains a register of certified properties.

For social housing, we need more council workers, including local maintenance crews for council housing stock. We need a Tenants’ Charter that sets out standards of service.

I also believe that while policies are important, they are not enough: We need to organise to fight for tenants’ rights. I am proud to be a member of CATU (Community Action Tenants’ Union) and have stood with other members against evictions and unscrupulous landlords. I will continue to do so whether I am elected or not.

The privatisation of bin services has been a major contributor to the dumping seen throughout the city. The bin service should be taken back into public ownership.

The City Council has undertaken deep cleaning within the core commercial centre. This needs to be extended throughout the city. This will require more council workers - there are still 18% less council workers in Dublin than there were in 2008.

Given the depth of our housing crisis, the number of vacant and derelict properties is a scandal. 

I stand for:

• A comprehensive audit of all the vacant or derelict properties and sites in the city. The Council should maintain an up to date register of all such properties.
• A council tax on empty or derelict properties and sites.
• Compulsory purchase of long term vacant properties and sites for use as affordable and social housing
• Identify appropriate vacant properties that could be used to provide public arts and cultural infrastructure that supports vibrant communities.

There has been a push recently for a more intense policing response in Dublin to make the city safer. I do not believe this will work. In recent years we have seen Gardaí used, not to make the streets safer, but to break the Debenhams workers’ picket, to crack down on Palestine solidarity protests and to facilitate evictions.

Instead, we need a community and infrastructure response that includes:

• Active outreach programmes for young people in disadvantaged areas
• Action on poverty, including free school meals and school supports
• Decriminalisation of drugs - the money used to police drug users should be used to fund addiction treatment that takes a ‘housing first’ approach
• Increased investment in sports, leisure and cultural facilities
• More street lighting and lighting in parks

Dublin requires a free, frequent and accessible public transport network. Around 100 cities around the world now have free public transport - in one of the richest countries in the world, it should be possible here too.

Bus networks must also be expanded. The Bus Connects plan has improved frequency on the busier routes, but it has come at the expense of the loss of some routes that serve local housing estates. This impacts negatively on elderly people and people with mobility issues. I will campaign for more buses so that higher frequency on busier routes can be achieved without the loss of routes elsewhere.

Much of the city is overwhelmed by vehicular traffic but critical for its reduction is the existence of a free public transport network as an alternative.

We also need safer cycle lanes, segregated from traffic where possible. One particular route along the quays requires cyclists to switch from one side of the road to the other and cross in front of traffic at Inns Quay to continue on the cycle lane. It’s just one example of what is quite a dangerous city for cyclists.

I believe there are a few key things we must do to tackle the far right. Firstly, we need to take on a government that has created the space for the far right to grow. Their housing policies have put thousands on the streets - Irish homeless and asylum seekers alike. Recently, they have been giving more and more ground to the far right, sweeping asylum seekers off the streets and destroying their tents and possessions.

Secondly, we need to build a coalition that includes workers, migrants, ethnic minorities, LGBT+ people and local communities to confront the far right. The far right uses street mobilisations to grow in confidence and draw more people into their orbit. This helps them to harden up the fascists at the core of their movement and makes things increasingly dangerous for migrants and other minorities. They must therefore be opposed on the streets. I have written in more detail about this here.

It’s worth noting that far-right led protests at family homes of government politicians have triggered a debate on banning such events. If the aim is to protect family/private residences and children, this should be for everyone, not just politicians. All Direct Provision centres and IPAS accommodation venues are also places of residence and children also live in these places.

We also need to oppose the Government’s racist policies. The far right have been opposing the EU Migration Pact on racist grounds, but the pact itself constitutes a disgraceful attack on the rights of asylum seekers. Equally shameful is the Government’s Direct Provision system that denies asylum seekers basic human rights.

I have been involved in anti-racist campaigning now for almost 10 years. I am a member of United Against Racism, helped organise last year’s Ireland For All march and helped set up Dublin 7 For All. At the same time, I have been campaigning on housing with Raise the Roof, CATU and Take Back the City. It’s worth saying that when it comes to housing, none of the far right agitators running for election now have been anywhere to be seen - they only care about housing insofar as it helps them to stir up hatred and division.