Thousands of people attended a housing crisis protest in Dublin city centre today.

The Raise The Roof protest took place in the city centre this afternoon to highlight the lack of affordable housing available across the country. The march to Leinster House kicked off at lunchtime and saw thousands of housing activists, students, and members of trade unions and homeless charities march through the streets calling for housing for all. Protesters walked from the Garden of Remembrance and across O'Connell Bridge, eventually arriving at government buildings where a rally took place. Speakers included homelessness campaigner Fr Peter McVerry and members of the Union of Students in Ireland (USI). https://twitter.com/hoeyannie/status/1047454250421428225 https://twitter.com/niclochg/status/1047456238362083328 Ahead of today's protest, McVerry called the government' housing policy a "failure." Speaking on Newstalk this morning, he said:

“It is not just about homelessness. This is about people from all walks of life whose living situation is precarious or which places them under huge financial strain. “There are many, many people who will never, ever be able to get a mortgage and buy their own home - condemned to live in the private rented sector for the rest of their lives with the insecurity of rent and the insecurity of tenure that goes along with that."

https://twitter.com/SocDems/status/1047465921160392705?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1047465921160392705&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.newstalk.com%2FMajor-Raise-the-Roof-Housing-protest-to-take-place-outside-Dil The Raise The Roof protest comes ahead of a private members motion put forward to the Dáil by People Before Profit. The motion is calling for "immediate action" regarding Ireland's housing and homelessness crisis. https://twitter.com/NWCI/status/1047451961287692288 https://twitter.com/RuthCoppingerTD/status/1047458508357160961 https://twitter.com/jadeswilson/status/1047462542174564354 https://twitter.com/RoryHearne/status/1047460188578631682 Feature image via USI.