Deciding to remove the eviction ban isn't as 'black and white' as the opposition suggest.
That's according to Newstalk Breakfast host Ciara Kelly.
She was speaking as the Dáil votes on a bid to extend the ban later this week.
Labour has confirmed it will be backing the Sinn Féin motion, and has called on the Government to reverse its decision not to extend the measure beyond the end of this month.
Ciara said the opposition may have an over-simplistic view of this.
'I don't know what the right decision is'
Shane and Ciara discuss the eviction ban ahead of the Dáil vote to extend the ban later this week @ntbreakfast pic.twitter.com/g8gvvCRAM0— NewstalkFM (@NewstalkFM) March 20, 2023
"The reality of the situation is this is a 'suck it and see' scenario," she said.
"Don't forget what the opposition get to do: they just get to take side-swipes at everything.
"In their view the Government is getting everything wrong - strange that, isn't it?
"The reality of it is: it isn't simplistic.
"If they don't raise the eviction ban, we know that landlords - we can see it - the mom and pops are haemorrhaging out of the market".
'Landlords bad, tenants good'
Ciara said this would shrink the rental market further.
"The rental section shrinks, and that makes it more difficult for everybody, and that is a reality that has to be factored in.
"Whether or not the eviction ban... should be extended for a little while, I don't know.
"But I know it isn't black and white, I know it isn't simple.
"I know it's really easy to use that narrative - landlords bad, tenants good - and it's really easy to play into that.
"It has been boiled down to, 'Of course it's obvious what they should do, and they're doing it wrong'.
"Is that really the case? I often think the public are more canny and more nuanced and more insightful than the politicians in many ways," she added.
