Sinn Féin spokesperson on Housing Eoin Ó Broin TD has said that today’s winter ban on evictions “must be accompanied by emergency measures to increase social and affordable housing, if it is to have any lasting impact on the housing and homelessness crisis”.

Teachta Ó Broin said:

“Sinn Féin has been calling for the Government to introduce an emergency winter ban on evictions. Despite their initial opposition to our call, we welcome their u-turn.

“We will be supporting the Bill as it makes its way through the Oireachtas this week.

“The Bill has some weaknesses which need to be addressed. The exemption from the ban for overcrowding must be removed.

“The absence of any protections for council tenants and Travellers on official or unofficial sites is also a problem.

“The Minister must remove the overcrowding provisions and issue a circular to councils to respect the spirit of the legislation for their tenants.

“However the big unanswered question is how will the Minister use the breathing space which the ban provides to ensure we are not back here in April. The ban on evictions must be accompanied by emergency measures to increase social and affordable housing.

“Sinn Féin has set out what kinds of emergency measures we believe are necessary before and we will do so again during the debate today.

“We also have amendments to strengthen the protections for all tenants including those whose due date falls prior to the enactment of the Bill, council tenants, Travellers and those experiencing overcrowding.”