People in Ireland are worried about a Sinn Féin-led Government because of the party’s attitude to landlords, the Health Minister has claimed.

Yesterday, the Government decided not to extend the eviction ban beyond this month.

The Housing Minister admitted the move could see a “short-term increase in homelessness” but insisted the move was the right decision in the long-term.

The move has been described as ‘inhumane’ by opposition politicians – with Cork TD Mick Barry telling renters who face homelessness after the eviction ban is lifted to refuse to leave their home.

According to the Banking and Payments Federation Ireland, rents in Ireland have increased four-and-a-half times faster than in the rest of Europe over the past decade and a former chair of the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council has predicted things will “only get worse” in the years to come. 

Speaking to The Pat Kenny Show, Minister Donnelly said Sinn Féin would not help the crisis if they won the next election. 

“Anecdotally, yes, I have heard people say that they are worried about a Sinn Féin-led Government,” he said. 

“When they listen to Eoin Ó Broin, who on the radio yesterday morning seemed to throw in the towel on the rental market and small landlords. 

“86% of... rental properties are rented out by small landlords who have one or two properties.” 

A survey in late 2022 for Daft.ie found rents in Dublin had surged by 14% in a year due to a “dramatic fall off” in supply and Minister Donnelly acknowledged that many landlords are selling up.

“What Government has to do really is two things,” he said. 

“We have to make sure that tenants have security of tenure and they have to have protections in place. 

“And we have to make sure that there’s enough properties to actually rent." 

Minister Donnelly also said the Housing Minister is bringing in various short-term schemes that are “really important”.

“Like if someone is selling a property and you’ve got a tenant in situ, the local authority comes in and says, ‘We’ll buy the property, we’ll keep the tenant in situ and we’ll increase the social housing stock,’" he said.  

“These [reforms] are really important but ultimately, what matters is we increase housing stock. 

“Minister O’Brien has overseen the biggest increase in social housing stock last year in 48 years - I think that is very encouraging - but we have to make sure there are sufficient rental properties available for renters.”

Main image: Stephen Donnelly arriving at Government Buildings. Picture by: Artur Widak/NurPhoto.