The government will not extend the temporary eviction ban after March 31 setting them on a collision course with opposition parties as housing remains a hot-button issue and political football.
Sinn Féin will table a motion in the Dáil to extend the ban. It was originally put in place to protect tenants during the cost of living crisis, until January 2024.
As ministers, including Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Tanaiste Leo Varadkar, travel for official engagements abroad for St Patrick’s Day the Dáil will debate the motion on Tuesday, March 21st.
Speaking in New York Monday Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald said her party “absolutely appreciates” that the ban “is not in and of itself the answer to our housing crisis.”
She added that while the ban cannot remain in place indefinitely removing protections for tenants was “irresponsible.”
Varadkar defended ending the ban saying “that it’s not a black-and-white decision” and that there were “pros and cons.”
“We have to weigh that up, and Cabinet will make a decision,” he said.
Housing minister Daragh O’Brien has said the government is weighing up options to halt the exodus of landlords from the market which he says is driving up rents and reducing supply.
He said that while tenants’ rights must be protected such measures must not lead to “a decrease in supply in that sector.”
Among the proposals being considered are tax breaks of up to €14,000 yearly for landlords which is set to cost the taxpayer over €700m.
Several coalition party TDs have expressed their disapproval of the decision with intransigent Green Party TDs Neasa Hourigan and Patrick Costello calling on their government to extend the ban.
Speaking exclusively to The College View Hourigan, who represents Dublin Central, called it “completely the wrong decision” which will lead to a “huge rise in homelessness.”
Theo McDonald
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