A decade after the collapse of the property bubble torpedoed Ireland’s economy, Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Leo Varadkar has conceded that the housing crisis is a “national emergency.” According to the latest figures, there are today 10,000 homeless people in Ireland (out of a population of under 5 million) — with one family joining their ranks every day. In the past year, average rents have risen to an eye-watering €1,261 a month, while the number of properties available to let remains a mere 3,086. Meanwhile, the construction of social housing is in constant decline; in 2015 councils built just seventy-five units. Private investors control swathes of unused land, yet many choose not to develop their sites until mortgage lending caps are repealed so as to generate maximal profit.

The housing shortage has been worsened by a rapid rise in evictions, as landlords scramble to remove tenants paying below the market price. Ireland’s Residential Tenancies Board now deals with four to five cases of illegal eviction each week. Charities have recorded innumerable incidents of landlords changing locks, withholding deposits, and terminating leases without written notice. Some families have had their windows smashed and cars vandalized, while others have been physically assaulted after refusing to leave their property.

The government has promised some anti-eviction measures to give renters greater security. But the deliberate loopholes in the legislation, continuing gentrification, and the profits guaranteed for the landlords who raise rents have turned such policy into little more than a PR stunt. Threatened with being kicked out onto the street and unable to rely on support from the authorities, tenants are instead organizing to stop the evictions by themselves.