Call for winter ban on evictions as homelessness in Louth increases

A winter ban on no fault evictions is needed according to Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú as new figures show a continued rise in the number of people in Louth who are homeless. 

He said the latest Department of Housing homeless report shows a sustained rise in the number of adults and children in emergency accommodation in August in Louth.

There were 108 people, including 38 children, in Department of Housing funded emergency accommodation at the end of August in Louth. This is an increase of nine people, including five children, on the July figures.

Deputy Ó Murchú said: "Across the state, all categories of homelessness are up, including families and single people.

"With social housing targets not being met and more single property landlords leaving the market, this is a dire and worsening crisis.

"The news comes in a week when the Minister for Housing, Darragh O’Brien, failed to get any increase in social housing targets included in Budget 2023 nor funding for any new initiative to prevent homelessness.

"Minister O’Brien must immediately introduce a winter ban on no fault evictions. He should follow the lead of Nicola Sturgeon in Scotland who introduced an emergency winter ban on evictions.

"The Minister also needs to accelerate the tenant-in-situ scheme to prevent more families becoming homeless and increase and accelerate the delivery of social, affordable and cost rental homes.

"The housing crisis is devastating the lives of people in Louth. People here deserve better and they need to see the government deliver real and meaningful change.

"We are still dealing with unaffordable rents. What we got from government in the budget was an insufficient tax credit but no ban increases."

The Dundalk TD also spoke about housing issues in Leinster House last week.

He said: "The reality is there are a very large number of people on very low wages and they are literally being excluded from the social housing list on the basis of anomalies that might appear in their income in a particular year because of shift allowances and so on.

"This may leave them in a set of circumstances where they cannot rent. I am aware of a number of people in Dundalk in the past while who have been refused in a situation where a circumstance has changed.

"Previously, local authorities were able to make a determination on the basis of a four-week period.

"Now it is done over the entire year, so if anything was to happen, for example, if there was a period where a person was working extra time, and sometimes this can be required in healthcare setting, then their place on the waiting list is void and they are incapable of getting themselves on the housing list. They are absolutely screwed and are really on borrowed time."