03/01/2017

Apollo House Activists Submit Letter To Department Of Finance

Activists behind the occupation of Apollo House in Dublin have submitted a petition to the Department of Finance.

In its ten-page letter, the Home Sweet Home group has called on Finance Minister Michael Noonan to take "urgent action" on homelessness throughout the country.

The organisation also urged for the Minister to instruct NAMA to open its buildings for the homeless.

The letter also claimed while NAMA is planning to build 20,000 homes in the next three years, only 10% of these will be made available for social housing, signalling more focus on returning a profit rather than tackling the homelessness crisis.

However, the Department of Finance said NAMA has already offered almost 7,000 units to local authorities for use as social housing, with up to 2,400 units so far in use.

Speaking on the letter, the Department said: "The Department of Finance will consider the content and a response will issue in due course."

It is understood around 40 homeless people are staying at the Apollo House building, which has been vacant since 2015.

The activists have been ordered to vacate the ten-storey property by 12pm on 11 January.

(LM)

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