Republican News · Thursday 24 July 2003

Putting private property first

BY JOANNE CORCORAN

We at An Phoblacht's Parnell Square HQ had new neighbours last week, albeit very briefly, when a group of squatting anarchists with a point to make about the housing crisis moved into a building several doors down.

Autonomous Community Space occupied 41 Parnell Square, a building that has lain derelict for the last eleven years. The group explained they were occupying the building to highlight a number of issues, including spiralling rents and the lack of affordable housing. Spokesperson for the activists, Cian O'Callaghan, said: "There are a ridiculous number of empty buildings in Dublin - boarded up, unused, waiting for the highest price so they can be turned into cramped apartments that no one can afford. Meanwhile, people sleep on the streets, students work 30 hours on top of college so they can pay exorbitant suburban rents, and families are forced into unsuitable rented accommodation because they have no hope of affording their own home."

Events took a violent turn on Monday afternoon, however, when the building's owner, accompanied by a few heavies, took a long overdue interest in his property and turned up to sort out his new tenants, armed with sledgehammers and crowbars.

The gardaí, predictably, took the side of private property and helped turf out the squatters.

One young woman who was part of the protest said it was incredible that habitable buildings all over the city could lie idle while their value soared. She said that the group's aim is to reclaim space that is just boarded up and to make a point to the government.

The unfortunate lesson of the day the anarchists were evicted was that the state cares more about private property rights than the rights of individuals.