A rally in support of the union-backed ‘Raise the Roof’ housing and homelessness campaign will take place outside Cork City Hall at 5.00pm next Monday (11th March).

Protesters will be calling on Cork City Council to support a housing motion being tabled that evening.

‘Raise the Roof’ brings together a wide range of civil society bodies, including trade unions, political parties and women’s organisations, to demand fundamental action on the housing crisis. The ‘ONE Cork’ network, which brings together trade unions in the city, has been driving next week’s event.

The campaign is calling for a local authority house-building programme, greater security for tenants, and a constitutional right to housing.

Fórsa organiser Joe O’Connor wants the union’s members to show their support. “Fórsa activists and branches are right at the heart of this. We are encouraging all our members based in Cork or nearby counties to attend this rally and give Raise the Roof their full support,” he said.

This will be the first in a series of regional rallies, building up to a national demonstration in May. A similar event is scheduled for Galway on 8th April.

Meanwhile, a new research and advocacy group has been established to campaign on constitutional issues relating to the proposed legal right to housing. ‘Home for Good,’ which is part of the Raise the Roof campaign, is backed by Fórsa and other groups campaigning on the housing crisis.

Figures released by the housing department last week showed a record 9,987 people were homeless in January. Over 3,600 of them were children.

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