Sinn Féin TD for Dublin South West Seán Crowe has called on Government to immediately reintroduce the ban on no-fault evictions.
Crowe says the re-introduction of the ban would give protection to renters.
The TD’s call follows the release of figures by the Residential Tenancies Board showing an increase in eviction notices issued by landlords from April to June.
Crowe said, “the latest RTB figures show a huge number of eviction notices issued locally by landlords between April and June of this year – the total number of notices in Dublin was 2,298.”
“These figures show that the number of people at risk of homelessness is set to grow in the coming months leading to further rises in homelessness.”
“Government must immediately reintroduce the ban on no-fault evictions until such time as the number of people in emergency accommodation starts to fall.
Father Peter McVerry said in June that the lifting of the eviction ban is a major contributing factor to the sharp rise in homeless figures in Ireland, with the figure for July reaching 12,600, the highest since records began.
Fellow South Dublin opposition TD Ivana Bacik has remarked that even the governing Conservative Party in the United Kingdom introduced a policy that banned no-fault evictions and that the Irish government were wrong to lift the eviction ban.
Crowe said that lifting the eviction ban was “wrong”, saying that renters were “abandoned” and were left with no plan in place to protect them.
“This has left ordinary workers and families facing the heartbreak and distress of losing their home,” he said.
“If we are to see levels of homelessness fall, we need an emergency response and we need it now. People are suffering badly from Government’s failure to get to grips with the housing crisis. A Sinn Féin government would act to deliver genuinely affordable homes to rent and buy for workers and families.”