for the first time in Ireland, homeless people can vote in European elections

Thanks to a reform dating from 2022, homeless people in Ireland will be able to vote in the European elections, organized this Friday in the country. The opportunity to highlight the housing crisis raging in the country.

It is the turn of the Irish to vote for the European elections, Friday June 7, as well as for local elections. In most of the European Union, the rule is: no address, no vote. But in Ireland, for the first time, homeless people will be able to vote. This follows a reform dating from 2022, with concrete application today. A new group of voters who could propel the terrible housing crisis facing the country to the forefront.

Just a few months ago, Katherine, 54, was one of the 14,000 homeless people in Dublin: “It’s very hard, especially at my age and for older people. It was horrible…” After seven years on the street, Katherine has found housing and she wants to have her say: “I haven’t voted in a long time, but from now on I’ll make sure I vote all the time! If people are involved in things like this, it gives them some power back.” A power which, according to her, “was taken away from them” whereas they “face a lot of things when they are homeless”, but often they resign themselves by saying to themselves “What can you do for me to get my vote?”.

From now on in Ireland, homeless people will be able to register the address of their local post office, necessary to be registered to vote. Targeting people sleeping rough, the NGO Focus Ireland organized this entire campaign. According to Louise Bayliss, who works within the organization, as the housing crisis worsens in Ireland, this vote could well change the tone of the next elections: “We are trying to put homelessness at the top of the political agenda, she advocates. We believe we can do this by creating a voting bloc of people who have been homeless or are at risk of becoming homeless. Besides, I think that in Ireland, with the current situation, anyone in the private rental sector risks finding themselves without a home!”

“This should be considered an emergency!”

Martin Leahy, Irishman threatened with deportation

franceinfo

This is the case of Martin Leahy: faced with possible expulsion, this musician demonstrates, guitar in hand, every Thursday since April 2022, in front of the Irish Senate. “Housing is a fundamental human right, he says. It shouldn’t be a lucrative business. This should be considered an emergency!”

Many Irish people today condemn the inaction of the ruling coalition, made up of Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil, who have nevertheless promised the construction of 300,000 new homes by 2030. Martin Leahy, for his part, does not believes in it more and will most likely vote for Sinn Fein, the party in favor of the unification of the island.