THE EVICTION BAN has lapsed today, with demonstrations expected to take place in Dublin later this afternoon in protest.

The Government agreed to end the ban earlier this month, despite outcry from opposition parties and housing organisations.

There have been concerns that ending the ban will lead to a spike in homelessness figures, with Government ministers previously admitting that it may lead to an increase in the short term.

Sinn Féin, Labour, the Social Democrats and People Before Profit have all hit out at the Coalition over the decision, with SF’s Pearse Doherty telling the Dáil that TDs had voted to “make people homeless”.

However, Green Party leader Eamon Ryan defended the decision to end the ban yesterday, saying that opposition parties did not have a “monopoly on concern”.

“The opposition have no monopoly on concern about homelessness or housing. We all have the interest of housing our people and preventing homelessness,” he said on RTE’s Morning Ireland.

“None of the main opposition parties are saying that they would continue the eviction ban for ever and a day. They’re saying they’d just extended it slightly longer, but that would have downside risks attached too.”

Yesterday, the Department of Housing detailed how there were now 11,742 people accessing emergency accommodation across the State in February.

It was the first time in eight months that the number of people accessing emergency accommodation had dropped, but it only fell by 12 compared to January.

Following the publication of these figures, opposition TDs have called on the Government to reintroduce the eviction ban.

“The ban on no-fault evictions resulted in a further decline in family presentations with 10 fewer families and 58 fewer children in emergency accommodation,” Sinn Féin’s housing spokesperson Eoin Ó Broin said. 

“However the figures also show an increase of 66 single people and 13 pensioners in emergency accommodation in February.

“There is also a worrying increase in overall homeless levels in Dublin.

“What these figures show is that the ban on no fault evictions was having a positive impact, stabilising the number of people in emergency accommodation.

Despite this, the government is determined to end this crucial protection for renters today. 

Social Democrats housing spokesperson, Cian O’Callaghan, said that homeless numbers had finally begun to plateau and that this was a result of the ban.

“Homeless services are operating beyond capacity, rents are skyrocketing and there are thousands of people competing for a handful of rental properties around the country,” O’Callaghan said.

“The eviction ban must be extended or there will be a further spike in people becoming homeless.”

David Carroll, Chief Executive of homelessness charity Depaul, said the figures published yesterday “do not reflect the scale of homelessness expected in the next few weeks and months as the eviction ban lifts”.

“We are very anxious of what may come in the next few weeks and we are focusing on a number of aspects that may occur – one of which is the health impact of the removal of the eviction ban.”

“Depaul’s prevention teams in the community are identifying specific vulnerabilities and stories have begun to emerge in the last number of weeks of more 50-60 year old single men who have been served their notices to quit and have nowhere to go.”

The coalition has been under pressure this month over its decision to end the ban, with Labour bringing a no-confidence motion while Sinn Féin tabled legislation and – a week earlier – a motion to extend the ban.

While the Government lost a Green Party TD, Neasa Hourigan, during the Sinn Féin motion, it has defeated all attempts to have the ban extended into 2024.

Despite Hourigan voting to keep the eviction ban, the Green TD voted with the coalition during this week’s motion of confidence.

The Government won the motion itself by 86 votes to 67, with multiple Independent TDs voting alongside Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil and the Greens.

Protest

This afternoon, a protest – organised by the Cost of Living Coalition – is due to take place outside Leinster House calling for the ban to be reintroduced.

“The removal of the eviction ban is a new low for a government that has allowed households to struggle with rising food and energy prices, rising rents and rising interest payments without taking the necessary measures to alleviate the Cost of Living Crisis and provide affordable housing to those who need it,” a spokesperson for the Coalition said.

“This government has proven itself incapable of dealing with the housing and cost of living crisis and must be evicted.”

People Before Profit TD, Richard Boyd Barrett, said that the protest was to show the Government that their “heartless and cruel” decision to end the eviction ban must be reversed.

“Individuals and families are staring down the prospect of notices to quit now that the ban is due to be lifted,” Boyd Barrett said.

“This will pile on anxiety and stress for them as many people will have no choice but to sofa surf, move back in with parents and grandparents, or sleep in their cars. Emergency accommodation is totally oversubscribed.

“There is still time for the government to change this shocking decision,” he added, encouraging people to attend the rally.

The protest itself is due to begin at 1pm on Kildare Street.