GOVERNMENT WILL MAKE a decision on whether to extend the eviction ban “shortly”, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said.
Speaking in the Dáil this afternoon, Varadkar said the Government had hoped that the eviction ban would result in a fall in the number of people in emergency accommodation as it did during the pandemic.
“It didn’t. It’s continued to rise,” he said, putting it down to other factors.
He said it will no doubt be argued that if the eviction ban were not put in place then matters could be much worse. While he said that may well be the case but it’s not for certain.
Varadkar previously said an announcement will be made on the issue before the Dáil recess for St Patrick’s Day.
Varadkar said regard has to be shown for other factors such as the exit of landlords from the market, which the Taoiseach described as “a big problem”.
“The exit of landlords from the market particularly small landlords is a real problem. We have to make sure that we don’t exacerbate that and we also have to have regard,” he said.
Both the the Taoiseach and Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien have both stated that they would like to see improved tax treatment for smaller landlords in a bid to keep them in the market.
Holly Cairns, who became leader of the Social Democrats today, also raised housing during her first round of Leaders’ Questions.
She said young people were under stress due to the uncertainty caused by a lack of housing options available to them, which was impacting on how they planned their lives.
“I’m a member of the first ever generation who will be worse off than our parents,” Ms Cairns told the Taoiseach.
“This didn’t happen by accident. Political choices made by successive governments have resulted in the aspirations and dreams of an entire generation being either diminished or destroyed.
“Nowhere is the political betrayal of young people more evident than in the housing disaster.
“Skyrocketing rents and exorbitant house prices have resulted in the collapse of home ownership rates. We are now at the bottom third of EU countries when it comes to home ownership,” she said, saying this had happened while Fine Gael were in government.
“Your party first promised to address what was a housing crisis in 2014. Nine years later, it’s an unprecedented housing disaster.”
The Taoiseach responded by stating that his government continued to tackle the housing crisis.
He said said he had not “thrown in the towel” on the housing crisis or home ownership.
“I heard you say that you believe that you will be the first generation of young people in a long time that are worse off than their parents. But I haven’t thrown in the towel on that,” he said.
“That will only be the case if we don’t turn the tide on the housing crisis and on home ownership and I believe we will,” he added.
He said that Ireland was “doing much better” in relation to employment, pay and educational opportunities for young people.
“But the area where we are letting young people down is on housing. And I do acknowledge that and that’s why we’re doing so much work to turn it around.”
At the beginning of the debate, Varadkar congratulated Cairns on becoming leader of the Social Democrats and wished her “fair winds” in the time ahead.
“As one leader to another, it is an enormous honour to be chosen by your party to lead them,” he said.
“It is a tough job and much of the work goes unrecognised, whether it’s fundraising, dealing with party accounts, disputes between public reps, internal rows, staff matters. It is all before you.
“It is a very tough job and a very big job and I honestly, honestly do wish you fair winds in that regard.
“I also want to take the opportunity to recognise the former leaders, Deputy Shortall and Deputy Murphy. We haven’t always seen eye to eye, but I have seen many attempts to establish new parties in my time in politics and very few survive eight years, and very few have six TDs after eight years.
“It is a success that you’ve brought the party to this point.”
He added: “I don’t think any party since the (Progressive Democrats) PDs has managed to reach that level of success. Of course most new parties don’t survive their second leader, but hopefully that won’t be the case in the case of the Social Democrats.”
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