People are dying while they wait for housing, meeting told 

The public meeting of 100 people heard from charity workers and campaigners about the problems faced by thousands of renters in vulnerable tenancies, and those living without a home

Cork TD Mick Barrysaid at the public meeting that the decision on the ban was cheered on by vulture funds and landlords,  but struck terror into the hearts of families across the country. Picture: Damien Storan.

People are dying while they wait for much-needed housing in a system that puts profit before people’s needs, a public meeting calling for emergency action on housing in Cork has heard.

The meeting of some 100 people heard from charity workers and housing campaigners about the problems faced by thousands of renters in vulnerable tenancies and those living without a home. 

Official homeless figures of 11,754 have been consistently rising for months, and the Government's decision to end the eviction ban on March 31 is expected to lead to a further increase.

“The solution to homelessness is straightforward, it’s housing,” charity worker Caitriona Twomey of Cork Penny Dinners told the meeting.

Desperate people have been waiting years for housing and “are suffering greatly”, she said.

We hear about it every day. People come to our door, distraught, suffering, and in fear. There’s nowhere for them to go to get a proper service. People have died by suicide because the wait was too long for them, the pain was too much.

"The lifting of the eviction ban is going to cause mayhem in the country. How long can the Government keep turning a blind eye?"

Vacant and derelict property campaigner Frank O’Connor said Ireland is full of empty homes while people die on the streets.

“This is an emergency. We’re experiencing societal crimes against our people," Mr O'Connor said.

“This is State-enabled vandalism, and we have a responsibility to do something about it."

More than 700 vacant and derelict properties have been identified by Mr O’Connor and his partner Jude Sherry within a 2k radius of Cork city centre, although they were told by Cork City Council there were just 95 such properties within a larger radius.

'This is an emergency' 

There are some 180,00 vacant and derelict homes — not including holiday homes — across the country.

“This is an emergency and needs to be treated like one,” he said.

Cork TD Mick Barry said almost 3,000 households have been served notices to quit since the decision was announced about the ending of the eviction ban. Some 10,000 people will likely be impacted by those notices to quit come April, he said.

In Cork, hundreds of people have been served notices to quit, to take effect from April 1, which would impact more than 1,000 people, he said.

The decision taken by the cabinet to lift the eviction ban was cheered by vulture funds and landlords,  but struck terror into the hearts of families across the country, Mr Barry said.

He reminded people that there was an option to overhold - to stay in the property after being served an eviction notice, which was not a criminal offence while in dispute with a landlord, he said.

Hundreds and perhaps thousands of families will be forced to overhold in the coming months, he predicted.

He called on local authorities around the country to refuse to stop paying housing support when a tenant chooses to overhold a property.

The government has defended its decision to end the ban on evictions this month, saying its continuation would have driven more landlords out of the market and reduced the country's available housing supply, thereby worsening the situation in the longer term.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said continuing the ban on evictions risked creating a new form of homelessness, as people returning to Ireland from abroad could not access their own properties.