Cian O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay North, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I strongly agree with Deputy O'Dowd's comments, which were spot on. I ask the Minister to listen to them and to consider this point. The Social Democrats will support the legislation but it does not go anywhere near far enough. The reason it is being introduced is because we are in the middle of a pandemic. The people most effected by and at risk from the pandemic are people who are exposed because of chronic disease and people who are exposed by chronic disease are also more likely to be on low incomes and are more likely to be renting. Moreover, renters are more likely to be in vulnerable groups such as migrants. Many people who rent are those who have kept everything running throughout the pandemic with front-line and essential services, keeping our hospitals cleaned and the shelves in our supermarkets stacked. They are the groups that would benefit most from the protection of a ban on evictions in most circumstances for the next six months. It is surprising that the protections for tenants during the pandemic have been better in the UK under a Tory Government than under this Government. I would never have thought that any Tory Government would provide better protection for tenants than any Irish Government of any hue or make. We should stand by renters and people on low incomes and give them the full protections they deserve during the pandemic. That is why I tabled an amendment to lengthen the time to at least six months.

A key part of an effective strategy against Covid-19 is building social solidarity. Getting rid of the protection against eviction for tenants sent the message that no, we are not all in this together, that some of us enjoy better protections than others and that people in the exposed groups, who are renting or on low incomes, did not deserve the same protection. It is in all our interests to build up the sense of social solidarity in order that all of us can fight the virus together. To build such confidence, we need to take a clear stand and put protections in place for those who need it most, including those working on the front line, who are in high levels of contact with people and are most at risk from Covid.

International research has shown the direct link between evictions and the spread of Covid-19 as epidemiologists in Harvard University, the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Illinois have demonstrated. If we are serious about tackling and fighting the virus, it is logical that we would prevent evictions on most grounds for the next six months. I urge the Minister to consider that measure. I hope he will accept our amendments today but if not, I urge him to return to Cabinet on this point and seek further protections.

To give Members 90 minutes between our receipt of the Bill and tabling amendments was regrettably short. I acknowledge timeframes are tight but even two or three hours would have been more appropriate. It is a pity that the only amendments which were received were from the Social Democrats and Deputy Ó Broin. Other groups have told me they would have tabled amendments but the 90 minutes was too tight. Many people are working hard on tight deadlines but the democratic process requires more than an hour and a half to read the Bill and put in amendments. My amendment to increase the time to six months has the full support of the Simon Communities of Ireland, an organisation which works on the ground on homelessness. It strongly supports that kind of measure and it assisted in the drafting of amendments.

I note there has been a rise in Covid infections in the Traveller community in Ireland over the past four weeks. Since the initial outbreak, fantastic work was done by national and local Traveller organisations, which have worked very hard to mitigate and deal with the problems of insecure accommodation and homelessness in particular, as well as those issues which are related to the spread of Covid-19. As the Minister is aware, Travellers are an extremely vulnerable group as there is a higher incidence of chronic disease and conditions deemed to be at a high risk in the Traveller community but also because of the lower life expectancy. More than 2,000 Traveller families are living in inadequate, unsafe and insecure impermanent conditions. I wish to raise concerns about Traveller children in particular. Upwards of 3,000 children live in inadequate conditions, which has been brought to the attention of the Ombudsman for Children. For children living on roadsides, there is not always access to water, electricity and sanitation, which is particularly serious during the pandemic. In addition, 174 families live under local authority provision in basic service or transient bays, which only have minimal toilet and washing facilities. That also must be addressed. I ask the Minister to address these points in his comments but also in his work generally and to look at the groups most at risk, including members of the Traveller community and migrants, who have been affected by Covid in large numbers because of their insecure housing and their insecure, precarious working conditions, which put them more at risk and make them more exposed.

I will conclude by addressing the three parties in government.

The amendments we have tabled, if the Minister accepts them, will make a very real difference to the people who are most exposed to the impact of the Covid-19 crisis. They have been putting their shoulder to the wheel since the start of the pandemic to keep services running and, in so doing, they are helping to build social solidarity and social cohesion at this time, which is absolutely what we need to fight the virus. Unfortunately, we have seen that cohesion fraying a bit in recent months. Let us take a stand now to protect renters and the people who are most exposed to the effects of the pandemic. We must work to build the social cohesion and solidarity we need to fight the virus. Doing so is in all our interests and I urge the Minister and Government Deputies to consider that we could be doing more for those at most at risk and for renters.

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