Housing is 'civil rights issue of our time', says Limerick TD

LABOUR TD Conor Sheehan has been named as his party’s spokesperson on housing.

The-newly elected Limerick City TD has been added to the front-bench by his party’s leader Ivana Bacik.

He has described the crisis around housing as “the civil rights issue of our time”.

PICTURES: UL journalism students highlight importance of real-life issues in Limerick Voice

He said: “Housing is the biggest issue we face right across this country, but even more acutely in Limerick. The average rent across the private market is now €2,100 a month. The average for a three-bed semi is nearly €300,000. An entire generation of people have been locked out of home ownership by this government which was a reasonable aspiration."

Mr Sheehan, who was elected in November, says there needs to be a new State-led approach to housing.

“The Government will tell you it is investing €6bn into housing. Lots of it is going into inflationary schemes like Help to Buy, which drives up the price of houses across the country,” he said.

“What we want to see is more meaningful action by the State to expand the remit of the Land Development Agency,” added Mr Sheehan, pointing out that there has been little or no development on LDA-owned land for years.

Mr Sheehan's election saw him become one of 11 Labour TDs in the 34th Dail.