The eviction ban will not be extended.
Coalition party leaders met this evening to discuss the issue ahead of a full Cabinet meeting on Tuesday.
The three party leaders, and the Housing Minister Darragh O'Brien, met and decided not to extend the eviction ban.
It will come to an end as planned on March 31st, and then on a phased basis out to June.
This means some tenants will not be leaving their accommodation until the summer months.
However the ban overall will not be extended.
Lower Baggot Street, Dublin City, IrelandInstead, Minister O'Brien will bring a memo to Cabinet on Tuesday seeking a meaningful budgetary package for both tenants and landlords to be developed over the coming months.
He is also going to update Cabinet on plans to accelerate and increase the delivery of housing.
The move is something that is going to anger the opposition and indeed some in the Government, such as the Green Party.
“We do have to be careful it doesn’t have the opposite effect to what we intend”.
Eamon Ryan says extending the #EvictionBan could have led to rents rising even further. pic.twitter.com/V1k79LZFOL
— NewstalkFM (@NewstalkFM) March 7, 2023
Speaking on his way into Cabinet this morning, the Transport Minister Eamon Ryan said extending the eviction ban could have led to a contraction in the market and rents rising even further.
He said leaders have also agreed on new protections for renters - which would, among other things, could see them offered first refusal on a property when a landlord decides to sell up.
“We do have to be careful [the eviction ban] doesn’t have the opposite effect to what we intend,” he said. “To protect the people in the rented market
“You could see it actually acting as a deterrent for people renting properties and then the market contracting and rents going up.
“One of the things we agreed last night and we will be discussing here in Cabinet now is also putting in new provisions to protect renters.
“To give renters the first option, first refusal if someone is selling a property where they are in situ or for the likes of an AHB (Approved Housing body) to take on the property and operate it as a cost-rental-type housing solution.”
Sinn Féin spokesperson on Housing Eoin Ó Broin speaking to the media on the plinth at Leinster House in September 2021. Picture by: Leah Farrell / RollingNews.ieOn The Hard Shoulder earlier, Sinn Féin's Housing Spokesperson Eoin Ó Broin said the ban would have to be extended.
"In four weeks' time, the current ban on evictions ends," he said.
"I don't think a ban on evictions is a good idea, I don't think it's a good thing.
"It is simply an emergency response to a crisis created by Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael.
"We are going to have in April, May and June an increasing number of men and women [and] children with no homes to go to.
"Government is going to have to introduce an extension to what is a temporary ban on evictions," he added.
Additional reporting: Jack Quann
