BY KATHLEEN FUNCHION
Sinn Fein TD for Kilkenny Carlow
Sinn Féin TD for Carlow Kilkenny has said the government must reintroduce the ban on evictions after the Residential Tenancies Board Quarter 4 figures showed a further 64 eviction notices were issued in Kilkenny for the last three months of 2022.
Teachta Funchion said:
“The latest figures from the Residential Tenancies Board show that 64 eviction notices were issued from October to December last year in Kilkenny.
“This is on top of the 68 notices issued in Q3, which have now started to fall due this month as a result of the government ending the eviction ban.
“This is a huge number of eviction notices, and behind all of these figures are real people; workers, families and pensioners.
“The government has created a time of huge uncertainty and stress, and we are experiencing a growing number of people in despair contacting our constituency office because they simply have nowhere to go.
“While some will secure alternative private rental accommodation, most will not. The result will be an increase in hidden homelessness as people move in with family and friends and an increase in the number of single people and families in emergency accommodation.
“Kilkenny’s emergency accommodation system will simply not be able to cope with any significant increase in homeless presentations. Many people will be forced to overhold and in some cases to sleep rough.
“The government’s decision to end the ban on no-fault evictions was cruel, callous and wrong, and must be immediately reinstated.
“Government must also implement an emergency package of measures to prevent homelessness, accelerate exits from emergency accommodation and increase and accelerate the delivery of much needed social and affordable homes.”
