Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees
Thursday, 9 March 2023
Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach
Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 1 - President's Establishment (Revised)
Vote 2 - Department of the Taoiseach (Revised)
Vote 3 - Office of the Attorney General (Revised)
Vote 4 - Central Statistics Office (Revised)
Vote 5 - Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (Revised)
Vote 6 - Office of the Chief State Solicitor (Revised)
Mairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source
Obviously, I would hope that all those things that the Taoiseach has said he would do if he saw an increase in homelessness, he would do anyway. The whole point is that the eviction ban is in place to give the Government breathing space to deliver the homes that are obviously needed in order to stop people entering homelessness. That is clear but the eviction ban does give that breathing space. We have seen the example of Scotland, where the Scottish Government has decided to extend the ban to 30 September.
We know at this very moment there is not that alternative for most people who are facing homelessness. Obviously, I would hope the Taoiseach will be doing all those things he listed out anyway to provide those homes. What we do not want to see is more people going into homelessness. My concern, and this is the point, is that I believe we are just going to see an increase in homelessness now as a result of that. We need, therefore, to continue the eviction ban.
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