Jack Monroe writes about how her experience of poverty has affected her mental health and her personality. She is not the person she was, not the woman she could have been, because of the stress and trauma of poverty. This is something I have witnessed first-hand. I grew up around a man shaped by the harsh realities of poverty in the 30s and 40s in Kilmarnock. My grandfather ‘never missed a day of work.’ Rain, hail, or shine, hungover, sick, and – latterly – dying he got up and went to the garage where he worked fixing car engines.
Grenfell Tower: “Missing” means Dead
As the well-to-do homeowners of plummy and posh south Kensington wring their hands as the death toll mounts on their backyard, it was their demand for a more pleasing vista – and not the Grenfell residents’ plea for better, safer accommodation – that led to the multi-million pound RBKC council “regeneration” of Grenfell tower.
Renting in Dublin and the Failure of Law
With one in five TDs in the current Dáil being owners of private rental accommodation it is no wonder that nothing has been done – even as homelessness in the country reaches record levels – to help keep ordinary working families in their homes.
Ireland’s Real Major Emergency
Homelessness in Ireland has reached disaster levels meriting the declaration of a state of emergency in the country. In spite of UN experts making this clear to Ireland the government continues to look after the rich.
Greedy Dublin Landlords
This is the thing about economic growth; it always comes at a cost for the people who don’t economically matter, and this has always been the way in Ireland.
Being Cold and at Boiling Point
Tradesmen, it would seem, have a licence to print money. I doubt very much that I am alone in this experience. Whether it is an electrician, a plumber, or a general repair man, the ‘bad news’ is always the same – much more than you had ever expected. Something goes on the blink in the … Continue reading Being Cold and at Boiling Point
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