“Where will evicted tenants go?”

‘Nobody has been able to answer where people in housing need, who are facing eviction, will go’. That’s according to Sinn Féin TD Ruairí Ó Murchú who blasted the government last week for their decision to end the Eviction Ban this weekend.

The Dundalk deputy was one of a large number of opposition TDs who excoriated the government for not extending the Eviction Ban, which will now ben lifted on april 1.

Sinn Féin has tabled in Leinster House this week proposing legislation that would extend the Eviction Ban to the end of January 2023.

In an impassioned speech in Leinster House last week, Deputy Ó Murchú said: ‘We often talk about unintended consequences but the Government is taking action today and beyond that will have definite consequences. Nobody has been able to answer where people in housing need, who are facing eviction in april, May, June and beyond, will go. I have yet to see any solutions to this.

‘In this State, our biggest problem is accommodation, whether that is the cost of mortgages, rent or buying a house. Meeting the criteria required to do so will probably become more difficult in the next while.

‘I have already spoken about the cost of mortgages. our party has been straight with regard to the need for targeted and directed supports in the short term. That goes without saying but given the day and week that is in it, I also checked daft.ie like other speakers.

‘In Dundalk, there are six houses available at this point in time. In Dundalk and the surrounds, there are ten houses on daft.ie. People in my constituency office say estate agents are telling them straight out that they are dealing with people facing eviction who are already on their books. They say they will try to do something for them but they cannot. Louth county council will say the same’. and he pointed out the problems with the government’s proposed tenant in situ schemes, which aim to allow local authorities and approved Housing Bodies (aHBs) to buy houses where tenants are facing eviction because the landlord is selling.

He said: ‘Whatever about the in situ scheme for cost rental - we will see what that looks like - there are a huge number of people who cannot avail of the in situ pur-