The Deirdre O'Shaughnessy Podcast: Inside the Wexford eviction row that sparked political uproar

Irish Examiner Political Editor Paul Hosford explains how a Wexford eviction row escalated into a national housing controversy

Paul Hosford on the Wexford eviction row that put pressure on housing minister James Browne

Earlier this month, the Irish Examiner revealed that 36 households in an estate in Co Wexford had been served with eviction notices just hours before new rental rules came into force.

Thirty-six families facing eviction would be a crisis in any context. But with homelessness at record levels, the incident — in Housing Minister James Browne’s own constituency — risked becoming a political disaster for the Government, as well as a personal crisis for those involved.

The controversy deepened when a Ring doorbell video emerged in the days that followed, appearing to show the landlord’s agent stating that the evictions were directly related to the new housing rules.

Following political outcry, Patchflow Ltd — owned by two local businesspeople with extensive interests across the south-east — withdrew the eviction notices.

Irish Examiner acting political editor Paul Hosford broke the story and joins today’s Deirdre O'Shaughnessy Podcast to discuss it.