Housing minister's concerns over evictions 'disingenuous', opposition claims  

eviction notices were issued to tenants in a Wexford on Friday, two days before new rental rules were introduced

James Browne said earlier this week that he 'won’t stand for' eviction notices being given to 36 homes at Hazelwood, Bridgetown in Wexford.

Housing minister James Browne has been accused of being “disingenuous” over eviction notices issued to tenants in a Wexford housing estate.

Social Democrats housing spokesman, Rory Hearne claimed more tenants will end up in the same scenario due to new rent rules.

Mr Browne said earlier this week that he “won’t stand for” eviction notices being given to 36 homes at Hazelwood, Bridgetown in Wexford.

The eviction notices were issued on Friday, two days before new rental rules were introduced, which introduced the end of no-fault evictions through six-year tenancies.

Landlords are now allowed to increase rents to market rates in between tenancies when tenants have left of their own accord.

Mr Browne said that “no landlord can use the new rental rules, which are for newly formed tenancies, as an excuse to evict their current tenants”.

However, Mr Hearne claimed the Wexford situation will not be an outlier.

“The minister is saying that he's taking a strong stand. The minister's policies have created this situation,” he said.

He tried to portray that his new rental measures were somehow improving the security of tenure, Mr Hearne said.

They do nothing for existing tenants. There were 385 eviction notices served in Wexford just in the first nine months of last year. 

"He said nothing about that, not a peep about it.

“It's deeply disingenuous that he's now jumping up and around the place saying he cares about this and he's all concerned, and he wants to act. It's been highlighted to him for months that he needed to act on it.

“Only when it went in his own backyard, and the media highlight it, he is concerned about it.”

In the Dáil, Taoiseach Micheál Martin said that it was a “matter of very serious concern that landlords would behave in this manner”.

He added: “What happened in Wexford was unacceptable, and the minister sent the RTB (Residential Tenancies Board) down."

• Louise Burne is Political Correspodent.