Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Government has provided a rationale for the decision from the outset. I gave it earlier this morning. It is that an indefinite eviction ban would make the situation far worse and create a greater exodus of properties from the rental market, whereas we need more properties coming into the market. We need to create a framework whereby more people come into the market who are willing to let out their properties and we need to stop houses from exiting the market. That is the economic rationale. The Deputy may have a different view but I have not heard anybody suggesting an indefinite ban on evictions would help the housing situation or the homelessness situation in the medium term. I have not heard anybody articulate that an indefinite ban is the way to go.

The other key factor, which Members in the House will not want to accept, is the extraordinary increase in population in the past decade or so. That has been a significant factor. Notwithstanding that we built 35,000 houses last year, a 45% increase on the previous year, on which Covid had an impact, the reality is we now have more than 5 million people. Some 40,000 additional people came in via work permits last year, and that is not counting the numbers who come to work in Ireland from the European Union. We have had an exceptional situation in terms of accommodation more generally because of the war in Ukraine and because of a fivefold increase in asylum seeking in the country. If looked at objectively, it is clear, notwithstanding significant house construction – and we need to do more – why the pressures are as they are.

In the context of the lifting of the eviction ban, specific measures have been provided for and additional resources made available. Where people face eviction from a house, for example, we are saying the council should buy the house and prevent homelessness. We are expanding the cost rental scheme to give people options not to have to leave their homes and we are introducing 1,000 targeted leasing units.

We can go beyond the 1,500 tenant in situpurchases in 2023. We have overhauled the capital advance leasing facility to boost supply and we will build more social houses again this year. Without question we have made a significant change in the number of social houses that have been built over the past two and a half years. This cannot be questioned. We need to do more on the social housing front and on affordable housing and the private housing market.

Is é an rud is tábhachtaí ar fad ná go bhfuil sé mar aidhm ag an Rialtas níos mó tithíochta a chruthú agus gach aon chabhair is féidir linn a thabhairt do dhaoine atá gan teach. Bhí sé seo soiléir anuraidh, mar shampla, nuair a tháinig suas le 1,400 duine amach as homelessness. Approximately 1,491 people exited homelessness in the fourth quarter of last year. This means we are preventing a lot of homelessness and enabling people to come out of homelessness. For many of the bodies that Deputy Connolly referenced, the Housing First policy with our agencies has been a significant and effective intervention by the Government.

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