Housing Minister Darragh O'Brien has defended the Government's decision to allow the moratorium on evictions lapse.
Homeless charities and TDs, both opposition and Government, have voiced concern about the end of the eviction ban which they say will lead to thousands of newly homeless people. There have been record breaking numbers of people accessing homeless services for the last seven months.
New figures released by the Residential Tenancies Board showed 4,741 Notices of Termination were issued between July and September of last year. This compares with 1,132 from January to March and 1,666 from April to June 2022.
Read more: Dublin mum 'terrified' after receiving eviction notice as she worries for children's future
New Social Democrats leader Holly Cairns warned there will be a "tsunami" of evictions in the coming months. Despite the dire warnings, Fianna Fail Minister Darragh O'Brien was defiant about the Government's policy.
He told Gavan Reilly's On the Record: "No [we will not reintroduce the eviction ban], what we have got to do should that transpire and obviously all of us hope it won't and I don't think that it will to that level.
"Really, the solution to this is more permanent homes. I really believe this. We have had a good outlook this year.
"We need to tenant them quicker. We need to get social houses with people in them quicker as well."
Minister O'Brien argued it would be "irresponsible" to extend the ban on evictions. He said: "I genuinely believe further interference in the sector right now or this year will create maybe permanent damage.
"I would not have stood over a situation where knowingly that I made a short-term decision that was maybe popular in the short-term that would have more medium to long-term severe damage to an already constrained sector.
"That would be an irresponsible thing to do. I think those that are calling for that to happen on the political side know that too and are being irresponsible."
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