Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

I thank those who have contributed to the discussion on our Eviction Ban Bill. I will respond briefly to some of the points made, particularly by the Government, the Rural Independent Group and one or two other Members. They stated that we do not acknowledge there are reasons landlords are exiting the market.

The reason why landlords are exiting the market is because house prices are at an all-time high and they are cashing in on all-time high prices.

Is that just a general assertion? Let me give an example. I got an email today from a young woman who is a mother of two children and who has been renting for the last 16 years. Her landlord owns multiple properties and she has been given notice to quit because her landlord intends to sell all of those sites. A lot of people are going to be evicted because he owns a lot of properties and he wants to invest in building apartments, so they are all going to be sold because he can make more money from building apartments than leaving them where they are currently. That mother and her two children, and dozens of other people, are facing homelessness. They approached the council to ask if there is any chance the tenantin situpurchase could be applied to these cases, but the council says no, it was too expensive and it is not doing it.

They and many others will end up homeless and that landlord will then invest in building apartments, which in my area are currently being advertised at €2,700. That is totally unaffordable for all of the people affected by the housing crisis. In fact, what sort of income would you need to pay a rent of that sort? You would need after-tax income of about €30,000 just to pay the rent. That is not affordable for the people who are affected by the housing crisis but that is what the Government's housing policies are delivering. The Government’s reliance on private development in order to solve the housing crisis does not solve the housing crisis. It is precisely the reason why we have to do something to stop people who have done nothing wrong from going into homelessness at the moment.

I want to emphasise that our Bill specifically excludes antisocial behaviour from the protections that the Bill proposes. If people are being antisocial or if they are in breach of their licensing arrangements, that is fair enough, and also if there is wilful non-payment. However, that should not apply if people fall into arrears through no fault of their own. I will cite another example that I gave to the Taoiseach the other day. An elderly couple were working and paying rent of over €2,500 a month in a top-up arrangement on a HAP tenancy but the husband has early onset Alzheimer's, is no longer getting an income, his wife is now his carer and they cannot pay the rent. It is not their fault but they cannot pay the rent. The Government or the council will not allow a further increase in the HAP payment they get so they are now in arrears, and they are also in arrears for their heating bills. Are we going to throw out on the street an elderly man with early onset Alzheimer's and his caring wife? Are we?

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