Sinn Fein has called on Garda Commissioner Drew Harris to outline what facilities will be made available to homeless families who have to present at garda stations.
It comes as the Government’s decision to end the eviction ban on March 31 continues to be scrutinised by the opposition. Cabinet decided last week not to extend the ban beyond the end of the month, with fears over a flight of landlords leaving the market understood to be ministers’ main concerns.
However, this had led to questions about where people with children may go if they were evicted into homelessness. The Dail heard last week that one family had already been told by South Dublin County Council that they should present at a garda station if they had nowhere to stay.
Read more: Housing Minister says eviction ban will not be reintroduced
In a letter to Commissioner Harris, Sinn Fein’s justice spokesman Martin Kenny asked what facilities would be put in place for those who were facing having to present at a garda station.
He said: “[Sending people to garda stations] was the short-term solution faced by many in 2018. All stakeholders are in agreement that Garda stations are not suitable for families in this situation. However, I am aware that Gardai across the country dealt with this occurrence to the very best of their ability in the past and I commend them for doing so.
“South Dublin County Council have already advised one family in this situation to present to their local Garda station. Can you outline to me what facilities and resources are available to Gardai in stations when a family has to present there for emergency shelter?
“I am quite concerned at the distress this may cause both Gardai and the families who may need to seek shelter in these circumstances.”
Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald wrote to Taoiseach Leo Varadkar on Monday calling for the eviction ban to be extended. She noted that figures from the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) showed that 4,741 eviction notices were issued in the third quarter of last year. It is likely that these people will face eviction in the coming weeks.
She wrote: “As a consequence of ending the eviction ban, 3,000 families and households will be evicted in April. At least 2,000 more will be evicted in the weeks after that and we know that the figures are likely to be even higher.
“It is now clear that the Minister and your government has absolutely no plan in place to deal with this crisis, no preparation, no discussions with local authorities or with anyone else.
“In the absence of a plan, I am asking you to extend the eviction ban, to put in place a package of emergency measures aimed at preventing families from becoming homeless and for those in emergency accommodation to be moved on to appropriate accommodation.”
While the Government is not sitting this week, pressure will continue to mount on ministers as they travel across the globe for St Patrick’s Day.
A Dail vote on a Sinn Fein motion calling for the ban on evictions to be extended will take place on Wednesday, March 22.
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