Rory Hearne explains how we can all get houses in “Gaffs”
Image: Hodges Figgis
Rory Hearne explains how we can all get houses in “Gaffs”
Words: Ellen Kenny
Rory Hearne’s new book “Gaffs” will explain why no one can get a house, and what we can do to solve that.
Social policy expert and housing activist Rory Hearne has released his first book “Gaffs”, a part-history lesson, part-manifesto on the housing crisis and the potential solutions, based on twenty years of academic experience and activism.
The book covers the full extent of housing market in modern Ireland, from the aftermath of the Celtic Tiger, to the psychological impact the crisis is having on “Generation Rent”. It also addresses how we can create affordable, sustainable housing solutions for everyone.
Speaking at the launch of the book in Hodges Figgis on October 4, Hearne said “Gaffs” was dedicated to “the children we’ve failed today”, who may have to emigrate in the future due to the shortage of affordable housing.
Also speaking at the launch, Business Post’s Killian Woods said, “It’s been normalised that we are in a crisis… Rory has gone to the trouble of writing how to get out of this.”
Hearne previously spoke to District about the benefits of a constitutional right to housing in Ireland, a topic that becomes a foundational solution to the housing crisis in “Gaffs”. He also offered some ideas for how to improve housing in Dublin with the District Development Plan. A more thorough analysis of these solutions can be found in “Gaffs”.
Hearne does not shy away from discussing the devastating reality of housing in Ireland. However, “Gaffs” also offers step-by-step measures for the different ways Ireland can end that reality. It can be tough to read all the problems without some solutions, and Hearne has that covered.
Click here to order “Gaffs” online.
Elsewhere on District: Only four homes were built per 1,000 people in Dublin last year
