Heated Dáil exchanges as Micheál Martin defends evictions ban decision
Mr Martin told the Dáil if the eviction ban was to continue it would have to remain in place for the next two full years, telling Sinn Féin: 'You know damn well it wouldn’t be lifted in December.' File picture: iStock
Tánaiste Micheál Martin has defended the Government’s decision to lift the evictions ban, saying if it was to remain, it would have to be for the next two full years.
For a second day, there were heated exchanges in the Dáil between Sinn Féin, the Social Democrats and Mr Martin, who was accused of “making it up as you go along.”
Mr Martin said Sinn Féin came into the Dáil Chamber and had “demonised landlords” for the past three years and wanted them out of the market.
He accused Sinn Féin of hypocrisy and said the party’s housing spokesman Eoin Ó Broin said he was a “very reasonable man” and talks to landlords and developers.
“Then Pearse Doherty will come in and say ‘you're all developer led, you're corporate investment led’...the hypocrisy that spews all of what you're saying but it has nothing to do with the reality of delivering on the ground,” Mr Martin said.
The interaction led to heckling in the Chamber, with the Ceann Comhairle threatening to suspend the Dáil.
Mr Martin told the Dáil if the eviction ban was to continue it would have to remain in place for the next two full years, telling Sinn Féin: “You know damn well it wouldn’t be lifted in December.”
He said he believed the continuation of the ban would damage supply, which would be “detrimental” to the people who would end up homeless and to those who are seeking housing.
Mr Doherty raised a case of a parent with two children who was advised to present at a Garda station after they were told there was no available emergency accommodation by south Dublin council and the Dublin Regional Homeless Executive.
Social Democrats leader Holly Cairns asked Mr Martin if he was aware of any other housing minister in the history of the State who openly admitted to deliberately opting to make people homeless.
Housing Minister Darragh O'Brien this week admitted that ending the evictions ban could "very possibly" lead to an increase in homelessness.
Ms Cairns said the consequences of this will be desperate, particularly for children “when they become trapped in insecure and unsuitable emergency accommodation.” She said no one in Government could tell the opposition when "half-baked plan" that were "cobbled together" for renters would be in place, including when the legislation will be enacted to compel landlords to give tenants first refusal when they sell their homes.
She questioned why the Government had not worked on these measures during the six months that the ban was in place.
“I've listened to the attempts to justify this shameful decision with an increasing sense of disgust and utter disbelief. Who do you think you're kidding?” Ms Cairns said.
“The lack of respect for those people about to become homeless is truly astounding. You have clearly done zero planning for this. You're making it up as you go along.
“Thousands of people including extremely vulnerable children are going to be made homeless in three short weeks. They don’t know where they’re going to go, neither do you.”
She also asked him were Fianna Fáil’s values represented in the room when Coalition leaders made the decision to end the ban.
In response, Mr Martin said his party’s values were reflected when they decided to form the Government to take on the housing portfolio “notwithstanding the challenges”.
He said it was unfair to suggest his side of the House were "heartless, cruel and couldn't care less".
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