Varadkar: Judges will be 'very reluctant' to issue eviction notices

The Taoiseach said: “Eviction notices can only be issued by the courts and I would expect those numbers to be very small.” 

The Government is trying to minimise concerns of a wave of people being made homeless following the lifting of the eviction ban next week.

At an EU summit in Brussels, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said judges would be “very reluctant” to issue eviction notices. “I think people often mix up termination with evictions,” he said heading into the meeting. 

“Eviction notices can only be issued by the courts and I would expect those numbers to be very small.” 

In something of a defensive statement to the press, the Taoiseach said: “I can guarantee you that judges are very reluctant to evict people into homelessness. So we do need to start using words a bit more accurately.” 

Earlier this week, the Government won support in the Dáil to end the eviction ban in an attempt to free-up desperately needed housing in Ireland, but homeless charities are raising concerns about what it will mean for renters.

“The Government’s decision to end the ban at the end of the month is fuelling a hopeless outlook for renters in Ireland,” said John-Mark McCafferty, the CEO of Threshold.

“Threshold advisers received queries from 1,853 renters who face eviction once the ban lifts. It is highly likely that this number will exceed 2,000 by the end of the month,” he said.

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But the Taoiseach believes the eviction ban wasn’t preventing people from being made homeless anyway, saying: “if you look at the last couple of months, when the number of people in emergency accommodation has increased, there was an eviction ban in place. 

“This idea that the Opposition put across that notice of termination, turns to eviction, turns to [a] person in homeless accommodation — that’s not how it works,” he said.

Pressed on whether people who are evicted might stay in their homes regardless, Mr Varadkar said: “The vast majority of property owners and landlords are very reasonable and understand that sometimes people will need more time to find an alternative place to go.” 

“From my experience dealing with difficult cases and constituency cases, the courts are very reluctant to evict people into homelessness for humanitarian reasons.”