Richard Boyd Barrett: Condemns Lifting of Eviction Ban During Pandemic
Richard Boyd Barrett warned that a bill passing through the Dáil will lift emergency eviction protections and allow a resumption of evictions into homelessness during the pandemic. He described the move as retrograde, criticised the government for not discussing it at the housing subcommittee and urged ministers to pull back.
Decision criticised
He told the Taoiseach that the housing subcommittee did not meet before the decision and called it extraordinary that a measure which he says will resume evictions into homelessness is being progressed without committee consideration.
Emergency protections removed
He argued the bill "removes most of the emergency protections" that were intended to prevent people being made homeless during a public health emergency, emphasising that the pandemic still exists and that lifting protections will imperil people’s health.
Impact on homeless services
He said the number of people presenting to homeless services had dropped dramatically because of the eviction ban and warned that lifting the ban will drive people back into homelessness, shared accommodation and overcrowded conditions where they are more vulnerable to the virus.
Empty properties and landlords
Drawing on conversations around Dublin, he highlighted rows of empty, rundown buildings owned by landlords and vulture funds and urged an aggressive campaign to bring empty property into use for social and affordable housing to address the housing crisis.
Call for government action
He asked the government to pull back from the change in the bill, to reconsider the public health implications and to take steps to use empty properties to alleviate homelessness and the shortage of social and affordable housing.
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First of all that's news and somewhat remarkable news Taoiseach that the housing subcommittee did not meet in advance of the very significant and in my opinion hugely retrograde decision that you made in the bill that is now passing through the Dáil which is going to open the door for a resumption of evictions into homelessness in the middle of a pandemic I mean I actually find it quite extraordinary I don't know if the government doesn't understand or worse does understand what the implications of the bill that's now going through the Dáil but let's be clear it removes most of the emergency protections that were put to prevent people being made homeless and evicted because there is a public health emergency that public health emergency still exists and people who are made homeless homeless now will be there their health as a result of the pandemic will be imperiled and you will be responsible and you haven't even discussed it at your housing committee that's quite extraordinary admission on your part and I would ask the government even at this stage to pull back from it because the number of people presenting for homeless services has dropped and dropped dramatically because of the ban of evictions on evictions a ban by the way when people before profit put a ban to a bill to ban evictions in the last Dauphine if all supported so I do not understand why you are now supporting a plan to lift that ban on evictions into homelessness in the midst of a pandemic where it is really unthinkable to put people on the street into shared accommodation where they're more vulnerable to the virus or into overcrowded conditions where they're also vulnerable to the virus the other thing I would just ask very quickly because just walking around Dublin city during the pandemic I met an elderly woman from the south inner city and she said will you please go up and look up off Angel Street where there is literally a whole row of beautiful old buildings that are run down and are just empty and she said it's absolutely shocking there are people in my area including my kids and grandkids who need to be housed and look at that some landlord is sitting on that some landlord is sitting on that and it's empty and that story is repeated in town and village and city across the country where landlords property owners vulture funds sit on property empty that could be used to house people I mean really taunting the people on the housing lists and nothing is done about it have you any plans to go on an aggressive campaign and empty property and empty property that could be used to house people impacted by homelessness and more generally the lack of social and affordable housing so that we get that property get it into use to help address the dire housing crisis Thank you
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