LAST UPDATE | 4 Apr 2023

TÁNAISTE MICHEÁL MARTIN has refuted the suggestion that Taoiseach Leo Varadkar overruled the Housing Minister on the eviction ban, even as housing campaigner Father Peter McVerry stood by his claim.

Father Peter McVerry has said that Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien had sought to maintain the eviction ban, only to be overruled by Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, and that this explains why there was “no preparation made” while the ban was in place for its ending, which McVerry said was the “worst decision that this Government has taken in its lifetime”.

“I can understand why the Taoiseach is denying it, this is the most controversial and, I think, the worst decision the Government has made in its lifetime and they have to present a united front,” he said, adding that he believes it was a “last-minute, rushed decision”.

Varadkar and O’Brien continued to deny the claim again today, with the Fine Gael leader saying there is “zero evidence” to support it.

The Tánaiste has also commented on the matter this evening when asked by reporters, saying: “No, that’s not the situation at all.”

“The minister, his view was, as was the government’s view, that continuing with the ban would make things worse,” Martin said.

“We need more rental properties in the market,” he said.”

He said that the “view and the advice received from Department of Housing was that if we kept the ban going, that would result in a continuing exodus of landlords from the market” and that “the Minister for Housing was clear”.

The ban was lifted on Saturday following a Cabinet decision earlier in the month, where it is understood a number of senior ministers spoke out against the lack of preparation and measures in place to support tenants. 

Yesterday, McVerry said it was understanding that O’Brien had sought to keep the eviction ban in place but the Taoiseach had disagreed and opted for the government to remove it.

A spokesperson for O’Brien has said that “there is no question of him being overruled as suggested”.

Sinn Féin TD Matt Carthy has said McVerry’s claim is the “only logical explanation for the debacle of the last two weeks” and called for the ban to be reinstated.

The Cavan-Monaghan TDsaid renters are now being “forced to pay the price for a row in the Cabinet”, adding: ““It is clear that Darragh O’Brien had thought that the eviction ban was going to be extended.  It is the only logical explanation for the debacle of the last two weeks. 

“There obviously was an expectation within the Department of Housing that there would be an extension of the eviction ban beyond March 31st.  This is why there was no plan in place.” 

McVerry said this morning that he could not reveal his “sources” behind the claim, but maintained that was his understanding of how the ban was lifted among the members of the Cabinet. 

He said he is “in despair” at the lifting of the ban and believes the motivation for the move was a “political” one, citing upcoming elections facing the government.

“So if the government had have extended it to January, to March of next year, all that we’re seeing now would happen within a few months of the local elections,” he told Claire Byrne on RTÉ Radio One.

“So [while] I have no way of confirming or denying that, it sounds pretty reasonable to me that this decision was made as a political decision.”

Varadkar, speaking on Newstalk, said the claim is “100% untrue”.

He said the minister had recommended in October that the government put in place a temporary winter eviction ban, which the government agreed with at the time.

Varadkar added: “A few weeks ago, on foot of advice from his officials, three options report before the party leaders and he recommended option one, which was that we should not continue with the temporary winter eviction ban for reasons he’s explained.

“That’s the absolute 100% truth of it. Like I say, the claim is 100% untrue and zero evidence to support it.”

The row between the government and the housing campaigner comes as new figures show that more than 4,300 notices to quit were served by landlords to tenants in the last three months of 2022.

According to the Residential Tenancies Board, there were 4,329 notices to quit issued in October, November and December 2022. 

Sinn Féin TD Matt Carthy has said that it is clear that a cabinet row between Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael over the eviction ban resulted in a sudden cliff edge for thousands of renters.

Fr Peter McVerry has said that a cabinet source revealed that the Housing Minister believed the eviction ban was going to be extended, but that he was overruled by the Taoiseach on this matter.  Deputy Carthy said today that this was the only explanation for the debacle of recent weeks.

Speaking today, Teachta Carthy said:

“It is clear that Darragh O’Brien had thought that the eviction ban was going to be extended.  It is the only logical explanation for the debacle of the last two weeks. 

Additional reporting by Tadgh McNally