#41 Activism, Change and Passion with Eoin Ó Broin

Eoin Ó Broin is the SF spokesperson for housing in Dáil Éireann, and a TD for Dublin Mid West since 2016.  Arguably one of the most articulate politicians on the island of Ireland today, Interestingly in our conversation, Eoin prefers to describe himself as more of an activist, than a politician.   In this wide ranging conversation, Eoin gives us some background into the early part of his life, privately educated n Blackrock College Dublin, studying at Queens University in Belfast, and then going onto become a councillor in Belfast City Council. An established author in his own right with a number of very successful books published in the last twenty years, it's really in the last few years that Eoin has became a household name in Irish politics. Sinn Fein as a party have went through an incredible transition in the last twenty odd years, and if we look at the last election in Republic of Ireland, they topped the poll with 24.5% of first preference votes. Today they lead both FF and FG by more than 10 points no matter what polling company you follow.   In the North, it is also widely expected that Sinn Fein will top the poll, in the upcoming election in May.   I start out by asking Eoin why he thinks this is, and why he thinks people who maybe would normally not consider voting for SF, now appear to be happy to do so. The housing crisis in the South is going on now for many years, and it would appear for whatever reason, that successive governments in Dublin simply cannot get to grips with it. I point out to Eoin that there is a housing crisis almost everywhere in the Western world today, not only in Ireland, which he agreed with me on, but he did also point out how different countries are dealing with it, which was an interesting perspective and insight into the mindset of Eoin and his ideology / thoughts around fixing the problem.  Eoin has written a number of excellent books, but it was his book "Home" which I wanted to talk about in this conversation.  I ask Eoin why he thought it was important to write this book and also why he thought it important to talk about the work of Nye Bevan, the English politician, who is famous for implementing the policies that created the NHS in the UK, after the Second World War.  I was delighted Eoin set aside time for me to have this conversation particularly on St. Patricks's morning, when he should have been having a day off. I found Eoin an incredibly interesting and engaging guest to speak with, and I am looking forward to speaking to him again on Money and Plants. If you enjoy the podcast, I would love you to leave me a review, and also feel free to share this with your friends if you think it maybe of interest. All feedback welcome, and you can reach me at [email protected]  Until next month, Take care, CD