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

The Minister lifted the blanket ban on rent increases and evictions. He bowed to the landlord lobby when he did so. He was warned on the floor of this Dáil of what the consequences of his actions would be and, unfortunately, we are beginning to see the consequences of those actions already. Last Friday the Inner City Helping Homeless group reported the case of a healthcare worker who was evicted while at work. The healthcare worker had their belongings moved out of their place while they were at work. The notice to quit was for the end of May. It was an illegal eviction, but it was due to take place a few weeks down the road on the basis of the Minister's actions in any case.

We see a case of a vulture fund that wants to evict 12 households, 20 adults and some children, from a number of properties in Dublin. Once again, essential workers are being evicted: construction workers, retail workers and a carer who works in disability services. The vulture fund has a dispute going with an unscrupulous slum landlord who has possession orders against him but has continued to collect the rent. The victims in the dispute are the tenants, one of whom was described in a court document as "persons unknown". I refer to someone who was a tenant, who paid rent for 17 years. That case is being heard in the High Court this morning, so I will say no more about it in this forum at this stage.

It is clear as day that what needs to be done is to reinstate the ban on rent increases and on evictions. It was quite an effective policy when it was in place. It reduced the number of people forced to live in emergency accommodation from more than 10,000 to fewer than 9,000. Rather than listen to the language of those statistics, the Minister has listened to the pressure and the calls from the landlord lobby. He made his choice in that regard and it is very much the wrong choice.

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