Micheál Martin rejects claim Taoiseach overruled housing minister on eviction ban

Homelessness campaigner Fr Peter McVerry has refused to back down on his assertion that Darragh O’Brien wanted to extend the eviction ban but was overruled by Taoiseach Leo Varadkar

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar also said Fr McVerry’s claim is '100% untrue” with “zero evidence to support it.'  Picture: Damien Storan

Homelessness campaigner Fr Peter McVerry has refused to back down on his assertion that Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien wanted to extend the eviction ban but was overruled by Taoiseach Leo Varadkar.

Tánaiste Micheál Martin has become the latest senior Government minister to reject the claim by Fr McVerry and insisted that Mr O’Brien agreed with the overall Cabinet position that continuing with the eviction ban would have made homelessness worse in the longer term.