Irish Examiner view: No homeless respite

Among the 11,750 people homeless in Ireland, almost 3,500 of them are children. Picture: David Creedon

The latest figures for homelessness make grim reading. An undesirable high recorded for the seventh consecutive month; 11,750 people, nearly 3,500 of them children, in emergency accommodation in January. 

Family homelessness is up 44% in the last 12 months and child homelessness is up 34%.

For one substantial strand of opinion there are obvious precautions needed. 

The winter ban on evictions, due to end next month, should be extended to prevent a bad situation becoming even worse. For others, there are already huge deterrents to becoming a landlord.

Tánaiste Micheál Martin points out that there has been a net loss of 13,500 homes in the sector and a “couple of hundred” people want to return to Ireland to live in homes they have rented to others.

“You have to ask yourself — why are landlords leaving the market? There’s a real issue here, we could make things much worse” he has warned. 

Meanwhile, a national housing charity has responded to suggestions that landlords could be incentivised by tax breaks by advocating a minimum of 10 years security of tenure for tenants as a quid pro quo.

This may be a statement of position, but it is excessive and needs to draw a distinction between significant commercial enterprises capitalising on the strength of their property portfolios and the smaller private landlord who may wish to open up their residence for limited periods.

While Ireland fails to meet its building targets, and with the certainty that more refugees will be arriving this year, we need to encourage private landlords to stay in the market, not scare them away. 

The nation needs their homes, their goodwill, and their support. For the foreseeable.