Oireachtas Committee Urges Emergency Response to Homelessness, Possible No-Fault Eviction Ban

An Oireachtas Joint Committee on Housing, comprising 14 members including eight from the Government, has urged an «emergency response» to the homelessness crisis. Their report, published Thursday, expresses «deep concern» over rising destitution and makes 14 recommendations, including an «emergency package of measures» to manage numbers in and out of emergency accommodation.

Recent Department of Housing data for April shows 17,548 people in emergency accommodation, a 12.6 per cent annual increase. This includes 11,944 adults and 5,604 children. Numbers have climbed since 2014, with brief dips during December and a period of Covid-era no-fault eviction ban.

The report urges Minister for Housing James Browne to review all options, including an «emergency ban on no-fault evictions for a defined period». However, committee chair Micheál Carrigy TD (Fine Gael) doubted its effectiveness, fearing it could reduce private rented supply. Social Democrats housing spokesman Rory Hearne TD supported an immediate ban, calling the situation a «human catastrophe» and noting 22,000 notices to quit in the last 12 months.

Sinn Féin's housing spokesman Eoin Ó Broin TD emphasized the need for an «emergency response to end long term homelessness» and greater focus on prevention, such as increased funding for tenant-in-situ schemes. Richard Boyd Barrett TD (People Before Profit) called the rising numbers a «stain on our society». The report also recommends a child homelessness strategy, considering a right to housing referendum, and sharing Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) review results with the committee.