Housing and the cost of living crisis highlighted at ‘Labour Listens’ event

The leader of the Labour Party, Ivana Bacik, TD, addressed a gathering of about 50 people in the Mullingar Park Hotel last Thursday evening as part of the Labour Listens nationwide tour. The meeting was chaired by Ancel Boyce, Rathconrath, and leading figures in the Labour Party locally in attendance included former minister and TD, Willie Penrose, county councillors, Johnnie Penrose and Denis Leonard, local area representatives Fidelma Bennett and Liam Gilleran as well as trade unionists and members of the general public.

The housing crisis, the climate crisis and the cost of living crisis were all discussed, but speakers from the floor also raised their own concerns – the long and expensive road to qualifying as a psychologist and other professions, for example; the lack of supports for those with rare diseases, the drain of human resources as nurses, doctors, teachers and other professions emigrate to Australian and Canada in search of better quality of life, and the shortcoming of the new ACRES scheme to help farmers protect the environment and more.

Ms Bacik told the gathering she had joined the Labour Party in the 1980s as a teenager, at a time when things were bleak and young people were being forced to emigrate because of the lack of opportunities here.

She said that the country is now faced with the housing, energy and cost of living crises. Labour has been leading the way in fighting for renters’ rights and has been encouraging local authorities, to put the money into buying houses instead of doling out rent supplements to landlords.

Ms Bacik spoke of the need to introduce a travel plan whereby anyone can access public transport for €9 a month, which she said would tackle carbon emissions and reduce commuting costs.

She said Labour has put forward radical cost proposals for retrofitting homes and other costed solutions as positive alternatives.