Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, Independents 4 Change) | Oireachtas source

I thank People Before Profit for introducing this Bill, which I support. If the Government does not extend the eviction ban, it will once again prove its lack of political will to take the action needed on the housing crisis. Homelessness is at a record high of 11,632 people. This figure does not count those sleeping rough or housed by non-Government-funded hostels or by Departments other than the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage.

I could give several examples. A man came to my constituency office recently. He had spent so long being unable to find somewhere to rent that he had spent the money he had saved for the rental deposit on a car in which to sleep. He is not counted in the homeless figures, but there are many like him – people who are working but sleeping in cars or hostels or on sofas. I call this a housing emergency. I call thousands of people going under because their rents keep increasing when their wages stay the same a housing emergency. I call thousands fearing that they will end up homeless because landlords might evict them through no fault of their own a housing emergency.

Successive Governments have proven time and again that they lack the political will to take real action on this housing disaster. Last month, a report from Threshold stated that more than 1,800 renters had contacted it between October and December and said that they were at risk of homelessness. The RTB was notified of 4,643 eviction notices in 2022. For many people, the ban on evictions is a thin line between having a home and not. Threshold's report found that, in the cases it had advised on, 60% of evictions for rent arrears were invalid and 50% of evictions for reasons of landlord or family occupancy were invalid.

I have been dealing with several people in Part 4 tenancies who are facing eviction because their tenancies date from before June 2022 and the new laws do not cover them. A couple who had been in an apartment for ten years were given a notice to quit. They are paying €1,250 in rent. The landlord offered them another apartment for €2,200.

This is now effectively being used to increase rents, contrary to what the Taoiseach said yesterday. We need to strengthen the rights of tenants to give them proper security of tenure and we need proper funding for the services that protect them from evictions that are invalid or done under false pretences. The rights of someone who owns a house should in no way outweigh the right of someone to have a home and not face homelessness. Threshold also found that most evictions now take place because the landlord has decided to sell the house. I and others in the House have called for legislation to allow residential tenancies to continue, even if a property is sold, just like with commercial tenancies. If it is good enough for businesses, it is good enough for people's homes. The reality is this Government needs to find the political will to solve this crisis, build public housing, take power back off a failing housing market and strengthen tenants' rights to make sure no-one is evicted into homelessness through no fault of their own. It is not good enough that the Opposition has to come up with Bills to stop people from being turned out onto the streets or for this Government to take away one of the last protections people have from losing their homes. The Minister raised three or four issues with the Bill. If he was serious about dealing with this matter, he would take the Bill on board and tease those out on Committee Stage.

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