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In a tortoise shack special, independent housing consultant and former No 10 Special Adviser on housing and local government to Prime Minister Theresa May, Toby Lloyd, joined Tony and Housing Lecturer, Dr Lorcan Sirr to talk all things housing.

Toby explains how a lifelong left wing activist and social housing advocate found himself as a Tory Government Special Advisor and how, even amongst the Brexit chaos, there were small wins to be had. We discuss the opportunity there is in a house price correction and what multi-faceted approaches are required to de-financialise housing.

Thanks again to Lorcan Sirr for setting up this podcast.

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We know there are at least 4,700 notices to quit (eviction notices) ready to come into force when the temporary moratorium on no-fault evictions lapses at the end of this month. We don't know how many men, women and children that is. But it's not good. Yesterday Sinn Féin introduced a motion to extend the ban and put in place solutions that will stem the flow into homelessness. Joining us to discuss this and what the Government are likely to do is their Housing Spokesperson, Eoin Ó Broin.

Kind of appropriate that this is episode 999...

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Banks posting record losses, Governments having to guarantee deposits, Corporates looking for safe havens and recessionary rumblings are back in this season. Rejoining us on the podcast to talk about all of the above is economist and listener favourite, Constantin Gurdgiev.

We get stuck into Silicone Valley Bank, the wash, rinse, repeat regulatory failures and we ask how deep the rot is. You might not like the answer.

Finally we discuss the paradox of sanctions and the new economic hegemonic war. But it's more fun than I'm making it sound. There's also a complimentary podcast with Prof Richard Murphy on what's next available for our members.

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The SpyCops Scandal is possibly the biggest scandal that most of you know next to nothing about. Joining us to discuss an act of political policing that has monitored and infiltrated (mostly) left wing movements for decades is director of Ugly Mugs, Lucy Smyth and undercover policing activist and host of the SpyCops Info podcast, Tom Fowler. What they discuss and has been uncovered is truly reprehensible. Don't miss it.

Tom's podcast is available here:https://www.spycops.info/

This podcast contains themes and subjects that some may find upsetting.

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Mick Finnegan has spent over two decades campaigning justice for the sexual abuse he suffered in St John Ambulance Ireland and this morning the report by Dr Geoffrey Shannon fully vindicated what he and other survivors have been saying for so long.

Mick took time to come over and sit with Martin and Tony to explain what this means to him, the closure he feels now and the ongoing concerns that are raised by the report. We discuss Mick's journey up to today and the new hope he has for what lies ahead.

(Note: Access to our reaction podcast with Jack Power, David Hall and survivor Martin Hoey is available now here:https://www.patreon.com/posts/patron-exclusive-80102850)

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So far in 2023 at least one Palestinian person has been killed per day, and yet that frightening statistic doesn't come close to telling the full story. Rejoining us on the podcast from Ramallah, is journalist and tortoise shack regular, Hannah McCarthy.

Hannah has spent the last week in Tel Aviv, attending Israeli anti-government protests and in the West Bank, where much of the worst scenes of violence have taken place. She tells us what she has seen and how the slide to the far right is costing lives.

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You might have seen the series, Stories from the Streets, on Virgin Media TV recently. Well the writer and director, Luke McManus and one of the stars of episode 3, homeless rapper, Tommy KD, came over to the tortoise shack to tell us all about it.

Tommy recounts his own journey through addiction, sleeping rough and finding peace in art. He shares candidly about his years on the streets and the relationships he had and what resilience means. Luke describes how the focus of a show like this is to break that dehumanising idea about homeless people and why we must all look beyond the strereotypes. We also had a lot of fun!

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It's always great to chat with Solicitor and Partner with FP Logue, Fred Logue, and it was particularly good to catch him just as news about the lifting of "eviction ban" was confirmed. Fred talks to us about the State practice of using the Attorney General to quieten debate in many areas and why tenants have a property right that is constitutionally protected. We discuss the unnecessary harm this move by government will potentially have on children for the rest of their lives.

Then we get into the monstrous (or should that be monstrosity) new Planning Bill and the many legal concerns that it will lead to more costly litigation for the Irish state in the months and years to come. Thanks to Fred for his time again.

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In this Reboot Republic, Rory, talks to Elizabeth Gregory, a renter and mom who is devasted by the lifting of the eviction ban. She explains the mental anguish and despair caused by the lifting of the ban as she will have no where to go if she is evicted.

She cannot see any way that herself and her autistic son could go into emergency accommodation. She makes a clear call on the Government to keep the eviction ban in place. After the discussion Rory reads his Irish Times Op-Ed on the eviction ban. Please sign the Uplift petition below calling on Government to reverse its decision and keep the eviction ban.

Extend the Eviction Ban: Keep People In Their Homes | Uplift

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While our government fret over a temporary moratorium for no fault evictions, the Portuguese Government are busy bringing forward a series of housing plans that have have been hailed as incredible, while also derided as Venezuelan. I suppose it depends on your ideology.

Joining us to talk about them all is Vice Deputy Leader and tortoise shack regular, Joao Pina. He tells us about the challenges posed in tackling vacant properties, addressing dereliction and stopping evictions. We discuss how they aim to put rent ceilings in place and bring tens of thousands of properties back into the rental market through a series of carrot and stick initiatives.

This is a great podcast that honestly makes you wonder are our government serious at all about fixing the housing crisis.