Mick Barry (Cork North Central, Solidarity) | Oireachtas source

This morning, FM radio stations across the country were quoting Government sources as stating that the Residential Tenancies and Valuation Bill 2020 offers protection for tenants on the pandemic unemployment payment, PUP, and the temporary wage supplement scheme, TWSS, until the new year.

Those Government sources did not say that these protections will not apply to tenants on the PUP and TWSS when landlords plan to evict on the grounds of sale of property, refurbishment of property, relatives moving into the home and so on and so forth. In fact, the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government earlier told the Dáil that he has information which indicates that 28% of evictions in the State take place on the grounds of rent arrears. He also indicated that approximately three quarters of tenants who have protection from eviction today will no longer have those protections in two weeks' time.

The Taoiseach is no doubt aware that the end of the moratorium on evictions in New York city last month has resulted in an explosion of evictions in that city. How on earth can he guarantee the Dáil and renters in this country that the same thing will not happen here in the months of August, September and October, as we move towards the autumn and winter?

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