CATU News and it's the same but there's more reflection so it's not

A chairde,

With this year’s national Ard Fheis (AGM) less than 2 months away, preparations are now in full swing with many local branches meeting to formulate motions and elect new national reps.

Among those to have run their local sessions to date are Belfast (pictured below), Cabra-Stoneybatter, Cork and Phibsboro-Glasnevin.

Many branches have their local Ard Fheis coming up soon, including:

- Ballymun-Finglas, July 30th, 18:00, The Axis, 9 Main Street, Ballymun

- Mountjoy-Dorset, July 27th, 12:00, Dublin Adult Learner Centre, 3 Mountjoy Sq. North

- Limerick, July 30th - check branch WhatsApp group or email [email protected] for more info

- Clare, August 10th - check branch WhatsApp group or email [email protected] for more info

The above is just a summary - many more branches will be meeting in the next 10 days or so. Check your local branch WhatsApp chat for details or with your Regional Organiser if you’re unsure.

The national Ard Fheis planning group is continuing its work as well and is now split into 2 working groups - conference arrangements and a standing orders committee. If you’d like to chip in on either of them, let me know and we’ll get you linked in.

Some key dates ahead include the motions submission deadline closing (Aug 5th), the first of our online hustings sessions (Aug 8th), online voting opening (Aug 12th) and of course the big day itself (Sept 14th). More to follow on all of that in the coming weeks.

The last of our Regional Forums took place on Saturday, with members from across Munster getting together to discuss their respective branches’ work, learnings and challenges. Ideas for the future of the movement were planned out, supplemented by an organising workshop - and lastly, a motion writing session took place the upcoming Ard Fheis.

CATU Ballymun-Finglas members gathered last week at the home of our fellow member who’s fighting an eviction threat. The community support is strong and the branch will be working together to keep our member in his home.

Ballybough House in Dublin 3 is getting organised and the results are showing!

In a petition submitted to DCC two months ago, the branch asked for the local pitches to be fixed up and for the building to be maintained better. So far, better fencing for the pitches and playgrounds has been secured, with all blocks due to be repainted between July and August. Another ask was for the Community Room to be opened, and DCC has also met this demand. We asked for the lights to be fixed and that’s been sorted now too.

One of our members from Ballybough House who has long been fighting for better living conditions has received a new kitchen (the first in over a decade) and will be receiving a new hall door, new windows, damp solutions from Damp Co. and a fresh paint job for the whole flat. Everything is scheduled for completion before Christmas.

This is because of months of community organising, a commitment to having habitable and safe public housing, and active resident-members building momentum within the community. We will not give up and Ballybough House residents are fighting for good doors, double glazing and insulation for all!

Special shout out to Anushka, who members of the Dublin 3 and Ballymun branches in particular, as well as some of you around Dublin will have met and worked with over the last 6 months. Anushka has worked closely with the union during her secondment on PhD research duties from Utrecht University in the Netherlands. Her contributions to local organising as well as the landlord research and eviction database projects have been enormous - and that’s an understatement. Grmá Anushka! ❤️

CATU Louth will be out again on Sunday countering the far-right, following a similar action last weekend.

If you’re in or near Dundalk, members will be meeting at 11:30 outside the Irish Red Cross building.

As the poster says: Brutalising migrants won’t solve the housing crisis - a radical community union will.

Last but by no means least for this week, we bid farewell to our Ulster Organiser, Conal, after 18 months of hard graft in the role. While every branch is of course reliant on the collective effort of its members, I’m sure I speak for everyone involved in saying that Conal’s impact has been immeasurable on the Belfast and Derry branches, as well as fledgling groups in Donegal, Fermanagh and Monaghan.

I still find it questionable, despite the reassurances of our well-heeled Legal Department, that someone born in the year 2000 can legally be employed. His aul lad-esque taste in music does artificially add a few years, in fairness.

Seriously though, grmá Conal for your outstanding work and we look forward to continuing to work with you back as a Belfast branch member ❤️

In Solidarity_,

Naoise Faogáin
National Administrator
Community Action Tenants Union - CATU Ireland
www.catuireland.org