‘Where will they go?’: Kildare councillor hits out at government's lifting of eviction ban

A Kildare councillor has criticised the government's lifting of the eviction ban.

Last week, the government faced controversy when it announced that it would phase out eviction bans by the end of the month.

One of the most prominent critics of the announcements was new Social Democrats leader Holly Cairns TD, and this sentiment has been echoed by councillor Chris Pender.

The Newbridge-based politician said in a statement: "Already this week, I have been contacted by a number of families and individuals facing homelessness as a result of the lifting of the eviction ban, with some tenants being issued notices the day the eviction ban was lifted. It’s easy to dismiss the stats, but not the stories."

"I have had single mothers, young people and pensioners on to me seeking support and wondering where they will go when they’d be lucky to find any kind of rental property.

Cllr Pender continued: "Simply put, I have single parents, young people and pensioners worried they might have to sleep in a Garda Station.

"With our overstretched emergency accommodation where will the go?"

He further said that new data from the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) has shown that there was a marked increase in the number of notices of termination served to tenants in Kildare in the final quarter of 2022, compared to the same period the previous year.

Cllr Pender added: "This increase is likely to be exacerbated by the lifting of the eviction ban, which will make it easier for landlords to evict tenants.

"In Kildare, the lifting of the eviction ban is a particularly concerning development as we are already facing significant challenges when it comes to accessing affordable housing.

Cllr Chris Pender, Social Democrats. File Photo.

"For too many families in Kildare, this will only serve to exacerbate their difficulties and further deepen the housing crisis that we are facing."

"According to recent reports, Kildare has been one of the areas in Ireland that have seen the largest increase in rental prices over the last year.

"This, combined with a shortage of affordable housing, has made it extremely difficult for many families to find and maintain stable housing in the area."

Cllr Pender said that instead of lifting the eviction ban, the government 'needs to be taking bolder steps to address the housing crisis in Kildare.'

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He explained: "This includes increasing the supply of affordable housing, introducing stronger protections for renters, and ensuring that those who are most vulnerable in our society have access to safe and secure housing."

"The RTB report has shown an additional 219 Notices of Termination with a rental address of Kildare have been issued, that's 219 of a possible 3,000 households being added to the already overstretched homeless services in this country.

"That's households, not people. We still don't know how many (numbers of) people are about to be evicted.

"Again I ask, Where will they go?"

Cll Pender concluded his statement by calling on the government to reconsider its decision to lift the eviction ban, and to take immediate action to address the housing crisis in County Kildare, as well as across Ireland as a whole.