Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Like the Deputy, in my constituency service, I deal with housing queries all the time. Probably one quarter or one third of the queries that come through my constituency office are now related to housing. Every circumstance is different. We try to give people the best advice, whether that is advice we give them or advice with the help of the Free Legal Advice Centres, FLAC, or advice from Threshold. Certainly, for anyone who has had a notice to quit served on them and has nowhere to go and no other option, I would absolutely advise them to seek the best advice they can get, ideally, not from politicians, but from groups like Threshold, FLAC or others which can outline to them what their best options are and what the consequences are of the different options.

That is what I would say. Every case is different. Every case should be treated individually and sympathetically and people should be given the best advice, in their interests, not in the political interests of any politician or party.

The motion on Wednesday morning is a motion of confidence in the Government. It is being tabled by the three party leaders in coalition. As the Deputy knows, this Government has a majority. With the help of Independents, we have a majority above what is required; a supermajority, if you will. It is up to Independents to decide for themselves whether they wish to vote confidence in the Government or wish to abstain. They should not be browbeaten by the Deputy in that regard.

However, the Deputy should also be honest about the effect about a motion of confidence. If the motion of confidence fails tomorrow morning and if the Opposition is successful, the Dáil will be dissolved tomorrow evening. There will be an election some time in April. The Dáil will not meet again until some time in May and the eviction ban will have long lapsed since then. That is a simple fact. The Deputy should not try to pretend that by voting no confidence in the Government tomorrow morning, he will somehow stop the eviction ban from lapsing. In fact, the Deputy will make it impossible for the ban to lapse.

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