Louth TD calls for ban on evictions to continue

The government must reverse its decision to end the eviction ban at the end of the month, Louth TD Ruairí Ó Murchú has said, ahead of a Sinn Féin motion in the Dáil this week.

His call comes as figures from the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) and Central Statistics Office (CSO) show rents and house prices continuing to spiral upwards further, which, the Dundalk TD said, is “fuelling record levels of homelessness”.

Deputy Ó Murchú told the Dundalk Democrat, "the latest figures from the RTB and CSO show rents and house prices continuing to spiral upwards. Meanwhile our homeless emergency accommodation system is at breaking point with many councils, including Louth, reporting little or no extra capacity for new homeless presentations.”

The Sinn Féin TD continued, “I have spoken to Louth County Council and to their homeless services and they are telling me that while they are looking for how to provide extra capacity, but there is deep concern about what’s coming with the end of this ban.

“Despite all of this, the government intends to end the ban on no-fault evictions in two weeks' time. The consequence of that decision will be unprecedented levels of homelessness.”

He said his constituency office is already starting to see a spike in the numbers of people coming in with eviction notices.

Deputy O Murchú said: "The ending of the eviction ban, without any support policies in place for tenants who are facing homelessness, is ludicrous.

“No-one is saying there should be no evictions ever, but it is madness that there is nothing in place at all to try to mitigate the ending of the ban. This would include a tenant in situ scheme where the councils or approved housing bodies would buy houses where renters on the housing list are facing eviction, but the criteria for this is still too narrow.

“There is no consistency about how this would be operated across local authorities. There is no clarity about what will happen people who are not in this situation.”

Deputy O Murchú continued, “tenants are under serious pressure when they know that they have to be out of their homes by a certain date. There is simply nowhere for them to go. Each house for rent that is advertised online receives hundreds of applicants within a day or two.

“Louth County Council is already struggling to provide accommodation for those who are homeless, while the eviction ban is in place, but what are they supposed to do come the end of the month? They have not been given extra resources to deal with this. It is already taking up to six months to get onto the social housing list from the date of application.”

The Louth Sinn Féin TD added, “the case for extending the emergency ban on evictions is strengthening every single day.

“The government must reverse their decision, extend the ban, and put in place an emergency package of measures to relieve the pressure on the system.”

Deputy O Murchú concluded, “TDs voting for the Sinn Féin motion would send a clear message to the government that this ludicrous decision needs to be reversed.”