Any eviction ban put in place would be a “one off measure” for the winter period that would not be extended, Tanaiste Leo Varadkar has said.
While proposals are expected to be discussed in depth over the coming days, Mr Varadkar warned that there is “no perfect answer” to the problem and said that moving too far could lead to landlords selling their homes.
Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien tabled proposals for an eviction ban last Friday and is expected to discuss these ideas with stakeholders this Monday afternoon.
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It is understood that this involves a ban on evictions for the winter period that would end in March.
It is expected the matter will be discussed by Taoiseach Micheál Martin, the Tanaiste and Green Party leader Eamon Ryan this evening [mon].
Mr Varadkar dismissed suggestions that an “eviction ban” was being examined, and instead said that the Government was pursuing a “moratorium on notices to terminate”.
However, he warned that any proposal accepted by Government will be once off and will not be repeated or extended if cost of living issues do not ease.
“The proposal for moratoriums on notices to terminate is for the winter period,” Mr Varadkar said.
“The Minister for Housing has tabled a proposal in the last few days. It’s for him to explain it. It hasn’t been discussed at Cabinet.”
When asked if the moratorium could be put in place again next winter, Mr Varadkar said: “That is not the proposal Minister O’Brien is making. He is making it as a one off proposal.”
He continued: “The proposal is that it would last for the winter period, that it would be until the end of March and not be renewed at that point.
“When it comes to anything like this, the Government has to weigh up the pros and cons.
“There's an obvious advantage. [It would be] a good thing people wouldn't lose their homes over the winter period.
“But we have to balance that against the possibility that it might make more landlords sell up or sell up more quickly, in which case there'd be less properties available in the long term.
“Government has to weigh up the pros and cons.
“There's no perfect answer to this, but we just have to weigh the pros and cons and make a decision on that basis.”
An eviction ban was previously introduced during the Covid-19 pandemic. However, since its removal, homelessness numbers have continuously risen. For the past two months, numbers have reached record highs of over 10,000 people.
When it was put to Mr Varadkar that it would be difficult to remove an eviction ban if these numbers continued to rise, he said that pros and cons must be weighed up by Government.
The Tanaiste said that while “it is possible” that the eviction ban will be discussed at Cabinet on Tuesday morning, it still had to be examined by a number of Cabinet ministers.
Mr Varadkar also defended the Government’s track record on housing, arguing that 25,000 homes will be built this year. This, he said, is more than have been built any year for the last 10 years.
He said that while “progress is being made”, the Government is “struggling to keep up with a rising population, a growing economy and a construction industry that can only build so much”.
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