Sinn Féin President Mary Lou McDonald has written to Taoiseach Leo Varadkar urging him to reverse his government’s decision to lift the eviction ban.

Ms McDonald said that it is the responsibility of the Taoiseach to tell the thousands of families who face eviction in the next few weeks where they are supposed to go.

She urged him instead to extend the eviction ban and to put in place a package of emergency measures to prevent these families becoming homeless.

Teachta McDonald said:

“It is clear from the eviction notice figures released by the Residential Tenancies Board last Friday that the government’s decision to lift the Eviction Ban must be reversed. The clock is now ticking for thousands of families whose eviction notices kick-in from when the government lifts the ban on April 1st.

“It is the responsibility of the Taoiseach to answer the question – where are these families supposed to go? Where are the thousands more families who will receive eviction notices in the coming months supposed to go?

“Properties available to rent are at an all-time low, there is a shortage of affordable accommodation, and we know the emergency accommodation system in many areas is at maximum capacity. Families are running out of options. This situation is a staggering escalation in a housing crisis that was already out of control.

“The government decided to lift the eviction ban without any plan to protect thousands of households who will be evicted through no fault of their own.

“In the last week, the Taoiseach, the Tánaiste, and several senior government ministers have all been asked where these families are supposed to go. Not one of them answered the question. They dodged the question while acknowledging that the decision to lift the ban will increase record levels of homelessness.

“With eyes wide open, the Taoiseach is watching these evictions approaching, and not only is he sitting on his hands, but he is also hell-bent on following through with a political choice that he knows spells disaster for thousands of working families. It is a cruel decision. It is dangerous, and it is unacceptable.

“Leo Varadkar is head of government. The buck stops with him. He must tell these families, now living with a real, immediate, and overwhelming worry of eviction, where they are supposed to go on April 1st?

“The Taoiseach must extend the ban and put in place a package of emergency measures aimed at preventing families becoming homeless.”