The Tánaiste said the government would not introduce new eviction restrictions this winter, despite the number of people using temporary accommodation reaching record highs for the fifth consecutive month, reports RTE.
Tánaiste and Fianna Fáil leader Michael Martin said the new eviction ban would “do more harm than good” and could potentially “undermine” efforts to tackle the problem.
Tánaiste said the “key response” is the delivery and completion of new buildings, and he believes that’s where the government’s focus is.
Asked specifically whether the eviction ban, which expired earlier this year, could be reinstated, the Tánaiste replied: “I think it would do more harm than good.”
Mr Martin said the eviction ban was put in place last year in part because of “exceptional” problems surrounding the Covid-19 pandemic and rising energy costs.
In June, 12,847 people were recorded as being homeless.
Focus Ireland described the figures, which it said were up 22% on the same period last year, as shocking and unacceptable.
Its chief executive, Pat Dennigan, noted that “a rising number of children are dealing with the trauma caused by homelessness”, many of whom “will soon return to school from emergency accommodation such as hotels and family hubs”
“It is wrong that this is happening”, he said. “[More can] and must be done,” reports RTE.
Catherine Kenny, Chief Executive of Dublin Simon Communities noted, “unprecedented surge of people entering homelessness. This is compounded by the fact that the number of people exiting homelessness into housing is wholly unsatisfactory,” reports RTE.
Social Democrat deputy leader Cian O’Callaghan reiterated this, calling for the eviction ban to be reinstated.
Mr O’Callaghan, who is the party’s housing spokesperson, said that the figures are “the highest number in the history of the State as it surpasses the grim record set last month”, reports RTE.
“Tragically, 3,829 of these are children, representing a 44 per cent rise since this Government took charge,” he said, reports RTE.
“The majority of people entering homelessness are coming from the private rented sector where renters live in constant fear of eviction,” Mr O’Callaghan said, reports RTE.
“The temporary ban on no-fault evictions was working. It resulted in the first fall in homelessness in over a year until the Government made their disastrous decision to scrap the ban,” he concluded, reports RTE.
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