Denise Mitchell (Dublin Bay North, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I am appalled by the Government's decision to lift the eviction ban at a time when so many people have received notices to quit. The ban on evictions was meant to give the Government time to put measures in place. Instead, the Government squandered that time. According to data from the Residential Tenancies Board, RTB, for quarter 3 of last year, 1,839 notices to quit were sent by letter in Dublin alone. Sinn Féin has been asking the Government a question that it does not seem able to answer. I ask the Minister again – where are these people going to go?

I could raise any number of cases with the Minister today, but I will raise two. A woman in her 70s is staring eviction in the face. She has nowhere left to turn. She was told that she had to wait until her notice-to-quit date fell. She would then have to declare herself homeless. Imagine the mental trauma, stress and anxiety caused by becoming homeless in one's 70s and not knowing where on is going to go. It is a disgrace.

A young woman with three children is going to be made homeless in the middle of April. She is devastated and heartbroken at the thought of having to tell her children the reality. Where are she and her three children going to go? Please, tell me. This woman has told me that she is on the verge of a breakdown and cannot take any more.

The Minister and his predecessors in housing have failed dramatically. This Bill aims to prevent no-fault evictions. It also aims to give the Government time yet again to put measures in place. I appeal to the Minister and the absent Independent Deputies to stand up and support this Bill.

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