When it comes to housing, most of us just want to sort everyone out because everyone needs a home regardless of who they are. However, occasionally an issue is raised about who the homeless are:

'Are all the homeless people Irish? And if so how can the government find houses for the refugees coming into Ireland and not their own people?'

There are lots of people in high places who benefit from us thinking that the reason for homelessness in Ireland is refugees and other migrants. Or that these people are causing 'us' a big problem. It's understandable why some people believe that, after all the media spreads this message constantly, but it's just not accurate.

We are in the midst of another full on election cycle. Eamonn Ryan, leader of the Green party, and former minister in the preceding government, was annoyed at not being one of the leaders involved in the TV debate. But let us not forget what happens with the little party in the coalition government. We can witness it in the performance of Labour in this government, but the previous government, lest we forget, was a Fianna Fail and green alliance, with the little party being the greens.

Bertie Ahern appointed on the 14th of June, Eamon Ryan to the newly created portfolio, of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources. This was a big test for the greens who had aligned themselves with the Rossport campaign, and their leader, Trevor Sargent, at the time spoke at a Shell to Sea press conference and said that the Greens “supported an independent commission” as proposed by the campaign. The party were also aware of the great oil and gas giveaway, and said that it needed to be reviewed.

Homelessness in Ireland could be solved at a stroke by allowing people without homes to move into the 302,602 empty houses in the country.

That figure comes from the National Institute of Regional and Spatial Analysis. It's the equivalent of half the homes in Dublin, many of the vacants being in ghost estates that developers have been deliberately allowing to fall apart.

A closer look at Declan Ganley's "Libertas" campaign - the figures behind it and their motivations.
On Sunday April 20th, Libertas announced that Ulick McEvaddy was "joining the No To Lisbon Campaign" and publicised the event with a photo-opportunity of the two 'entrepreneurs' in front of the Libertas Campaign bus [1]. McEvaddy is the first member of the Irish business and political elite to join the Libertas campaign since it emerged under the stewardship of Declan Ganley.

For the first time in their history, the Irish Green party is in government. The deal that they struck with Fianna Fail has been criticised in many quarters as a “sell-out” – and with some justification, since the Greens have changed sides on the issue of Shannon airport’s use by the US military, the conflict between Shell and the residents of Rossport and the decision to route the M3 motorway through the lucratively re-zoned lands of Fianna Fail supporters, who happen to live near Tara. On these, and other issues, the Greens switched, overnight, from a position of opposition, to jobs in a government that is implementing them - with force when necessary.

We are all used to the scenario. You don't see your local political 'representatives' for years and suddenly when an election is called they're all swarming all over your neighbourhood like flies around cowshit - the politicians and the wannabe politicians. It's a scene which is going to be enacted all over Ireland - both North and South - shortly as general elections loom on both sides of the border. Yet again we'll have the great choice between Tweedledum and Tweedledumber as to who we want to sit in Leinster House or Stormont for the next four or five years - even though we know that it's not really going to make any difference.

WHAT WAS ANYONE to make of the fact that students began hanging pears from apple trees on the morning of December 20th 1990 at Bucharest University? For, early that same morning, workers were bussed from all over Romania to attend a 'spontaneous' demonstration in front of Party buildings in support of the dictator, Nicolai Ceausescu. The students at Bucharest University, aware of the real mood in the country, were satirising a famous speech made by Ceausescu to the effect that Stalinist party policy in Romania would only change when 'pears began to grow from apple trees' - the students proved to be singularly accurate with their timing.