An injunction has been granted today against occupiers of a property on North Frederick Street, calling on activists to vacate 34 North Frederick Street before 2pm tomorrow. The injunction was served at 8.30pm today. Trinity students from the Take Back Trinity campaign are involved in the occupation.
The injunction follows a notice to vacate the premises, which was issued on Friday evening around 6pm. Occupiers refused to follow this notice and remained in the property. The injunction was again granted against “all persons unknown in occupation of 34 Frederick St North”.
Patricia Ní Greil, owner of the property, made the application. Ní Greil is the daughter of Colm McGreal, an insurance broker at McGreal Insurance. Upon occupying the property, activists claimed that McGreal insurance had allowed the property to remain vacant for three years.
In response to the injunction, occupiers and supporters plan to engage in an Anti-Eviction Injunction Rally on North Frederick Street tomorrow. The rally will see multiple housing action groups from across Dublin show their support for the occupiers. According to the group, “victory can only be achieved with feet on the street”.
The group has since called for people to engage in their own solidarity events, such as banner drops or information stalls, “or even an occupation in your own area”.
Occupiers are approaching their 12th day of the occupation, which began on 17 August. This followed the vacating of a property in the Summerhill area of Dublin, by High Court injunction.
The occupation at North Frederick Street followed an injunction forcing occupiers to vacate 34 Summerhill Parade, which was occupied for 10 days. This property belonged to a company owned by PJ O’Donnell, on behalf of current and former employees. The initial injunction was granted due to fears that the property would be interfered with by occupiers.
This evening’s injunction comes two weeks after an occupation of the Custom House, when Trinity students, among others, refused to leave the Custom House until a meeting was arranged with Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government Eoghan Murphy. However, this was cancelled as activists claimed that the minister had “substantially changed the terms of the meeting”. They subsequently called for the minister’s resignation.
The occupiers have three main demands. These are the tightening of rent caps, to limits of €300, or 20% of a person’s income. They also call for the compulsory purchase of all vacant sites in Dublin, and more specifically the purchase of 33 to 39 North Frederick street.
