Urban austerity and activism: direct action against neoliberal housing policies

Abstract

The struggle for affordable housing reflects the widespread structural tensions that exist between property markets and the provision of housing. Recent years have seen frequent protests that have highlighted problems in the Irish housing sector, along with the emergence of various housing movements, especially in Dublin, where the lack of affordable housing is severe. This paper argues that these campaigns have contributed to the increased public debate on commodified housing models, signalling a strong demand for a coherent and inclusive national housing policy in Ireland. In particular, I examine the activities of the Home Sweet Home movement (HSH), a collective organization of housing activists that occupied the Apollo House building in Dublin’s inner city in 2016–2017. This movement challenged private housing market solutions and the central role played by financialisation in economic and social life. Whilst considering that Ireland is suffering a housing crisis which cannot be easily solved, this paper combines a critical analysis of housing movements that resist neoliberal housing models, the HSH action in this context, and the challenges involved in changing the government’s approach to housing.

Keywords:

• Housing crisis
• homelessness
• social movements
• direct action
• activism
• Ireland

Acknowledgements

This paper draws on research with housing activists based in Dublin. I would like to thank them for their willingness to take part in this study. Their contribution to this research was invaluable. I also want say thank you to Dr Mary Murphy, Dr Niamh Gaynor and Professor David Farrell for their comments in early versions of this article. Many thanks also to the three anonymous referees for their insightful comments and suggestions.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1 “Direct Provision” is an accommodation service offered by the Irish government to asylum seekers in Ireland while their claims for refugee status are being processed. This system has faced severe criticism from human rights activists, as many asylum seekers in the State’s direct provision system spend years waiting for the results of their refugee status application in conditions that may be damaging to their health and welfare. In late 2017, there were 5,096 persons registered as living in Direct Provision in Ireland (Irish Refugee Council, 2018).

2 At the time of writing, other housing coalitions - such as the National Homeless and Housing Coalition and the Irish Coalition to End Youth Homelessness - also exist. However, since the Home Sweet Home occupation was organized and supported by the Irish Housing Network, I have focused my analysis on them.

3 “Seven people died sleeping rough in less than three months, campaigners say”, Irish Independent, 29^th November 2017: https://www.independent.ie/breaking-news/irish-news/seven-people-died-sleeping-rough-in-less-than-three-months-campaigners-say-36364092.html

4 “Apollo House accommodation ‘substandard’, council chief says” The Irish Times, 28^th December 2016: https://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/apollo-house-accommodation-substandard-council-chief-says-1.2919209

5 See full statement here: http://www.intallaght.ie/dcc-response-to-apollo-house-decision/

6 114 sites and properties were lying empty in the capital and county amid a housing crisis up to September 2018: https://www.irishtimes.com/news/environment/city-vacant-dublin-s-hundreds-of-multimillion-euro-empty-sites-and-properties-1.3635595

Additional information

Funding

This article was funded by Irish Research Council.

Notes on contributors

Valesca Lima

Dr Valesca Lima is a postdoctoral research fellow at Maynooth University specialising in social movements, housing policies, and governce.