Leo Varadkar confirms eviction ban but two types of tenants can still 'be required to leave'

Leo Varadkar has confirmed this morning that an evictions ban is set to be introduced.

The Tánaiste was speaking on a canvass with fellow Fine Gael ministers on Dublin’s Dawson Street on Tuesday morning ahead of a crunch Cabinet meeting where the Fine Gael team were telling the public about the Budget benefits they had handed out this week.

But the potential evictions ban was what the Fine Gael chief and soon-to-be Taoiseach again was pressed on by reporters.

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He performed a partial U-turn in accepting that a ban is on the way because a few weeks ago he said he feared an evictions ban would see landlords leave the market, making the problem worse in the longer run.

Mr Varadkar said: “What’s being proposed is a moratorium on the effecting of Notices of Termination (NOTs).

“It will still be the case that if a tenant doesn’t pay their rent or if they engage in antisocial behaviour they can still be required to leave.

“What essentially the Minister (for Housing, Darragh O’Brien) was saying to us was that the number of people who need emergency accommodation is rising.

Tanaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Leo Varadkar (Gareth Chaney/Collins)

“We need some time to deal with that, we need more social housing and if necessary put in place more emergency accommodation and that breathing time is needed.

“That is the case that he is making and I think that it is reasonable.”

It is expected that the Cabinet will agree at the meeting to bring the ban into operation until the end of March.

However, it has not yet been decided when the ban will come into effect, with December the initial proposed starting point.

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