Protesters have cornered the Housing Minister at the local election count in Dublin.
Eliminated People Before Profit candidate Peter Dooley led the protesters as they confronted Eoghan Murphy over the government's housing policies.
Mr Dooley had been eliminated on the previous count in the Kimmage/Rathmines constituency.
Housing protesters have cornered Minister Eoghan Murphy at the Dublin City count centre #le19 pic.twitter.com/NuhWHVaVVt
— Seán Defoe (@SeanDefoe) May 26, 2019
He accused Minister of standing in the way the People Before Profit Anti-Evictions Bill which was passed its first vote in the Dáil in December.
The proposed legislation, which would remove property renovation as grounds for ending a lease, is now at the committee stage.
Minister Murphy insisted the Bill does not have majority support in the Dáil.
Seems more intimidation than democracy. #LE19 https://t.co/byLVkDKgIJ
— Charlie Flanagan (@CharlieFlanagan) May 26, 2019
The protesters also let Minister Murphy know how they felt about his comments on co-living.
Last week, he described the prospect of co-living as an "exciting" choice for young workers.
Commenting on the planned development of co-living apartment blocks where up to 42 residents would share a kitchen, he said: “We all made sacrifices when we were young” – adding that workers could sacrifice space for lower rents.
After about 15 minutes the protesters moved on to monitor progress in another count.