The Taoiseach has insisted support will be in place for those who are evicted despite 17 local authorities having no emergency accommodation available for people who become homeless.
Leo Varadkar has said councils are “ramping up” the provision of emergency accommodation to help those who find themselves homeless after the eviction ban is lifted on March 31.
However, Mr Varadkar admitted this type of temporary accommodation is not a solution to homelessness.
Concerns have been raised that people who are issued with notices to quit in the coming weeks and months may be faced with a situation where they have nowhere to go.
Sinn Féin has contacted each of the 31 local authorities around the country seeking information on the level of accommodation available for people who find themselves homeless.
Of these, 17 local authorities have said they have “no capacity” to provide emergency shelter while a further five have “extremely limited” spaces. There has been no response yet from other authorities.
“The information we’re receiving from local authorities is very stark and very worrying,” said Sinn Fein TD Matt Carthy.
All of the major city councils have indicated they have no capacity or very limited accommodation, with some local authorities saying there has been no availability for over a year.
“Dublin City Council are already directing homeless people to counties outside of the city; Cork County Council has no capacity; Galway County Council has no capacity; Limerick City and County Council has no capacity, in fact, there’s a waiting list for emergency accommodation; Waterford City Council is one of those local authority areas that tell us they have extremely limited capacity,” the Cavan–Monaghan TD said.
“If somebody presents themselves as homeless, they will be told that there is no guidance as to where they should go. That is, in our mind, the fundamental reason why Government must extend the eviction ban and they must use that extension to do what they failed to do during the current period, which is put in place the emergency measures that are required to ensure that we have increased capacity in terms of emergency accommodation.”
But speaking in Washington, Mr Varadkar ruled out any extension of the ban, saying while it will likely lead to a spike in homelessness, the ban itself merely pushed these evictions down the road. He said there was “no acceptable number” of people being made homeless by the ban ending.
Mr Varadkar said councils were “ramping up the provision of emergency accommodation”, which he said is ” necessary in some cases but it’s not the solution”.
The vast majority of people who have a notice to quit served on them don’t end up in emergency accommodation — they’re either able to find alternative accommodation, and they often do that with the help of the State through our various diff
