Sinn Féin TD for Meath West Johnny Guirke has called for ‘Government to immediately reinstate the ban on no fault evictions’.
His call was made in response to the latest homeless report from the Department of Housing showing that 207 adults and children were officially homeless in Meath in April.
This represents an increase of 7 people on the previous month:
Guirke told Meath Live, “The homeless figures from the Department of Housing confirm a terrifyingly high level of homelessness in Meath. 207 people, including children were in Department of Housing funded emergency accommodation in Meath April. This represents an increase of 7 people since March.
“This is an increase in homelessness in the first month since the ending of the ban on no fault evictions. I am concerned that people in Meath will continue to face homelessness as the housing crisis keeps spiralling.
“The figures confirm once again that the Government’s decision to end the ban on no fault evictions was wrong. It also highlights the fact that they simply did not have the emergency measures in place to deal with the ending of the ban.
“The tenant-in-situ scheme is still moving too slowly. The output of social and affordable homes is too slow. No additional supply of social housing using emergency planning and procurement powers has even been initiated.
“The Government must immediately reinstate the ban on no fault evictions. They must increase and accelerate the delivery of social homes, including a significant number of high grade modular homes delivered with emergency planning and procurement powers. They must also provide councils with additional staff to speed up the processing time for the tenant-in-situ scheme
“Failure to do this will see homelessness continue to rise in Meath in the coming months. The Government must change their approach to this ever deepening homeless crisis before things get even worse.
“It is clear that ordinary workers and families in Meath are facing dire situations due to the Government’s failure to get to grips with the housing crisis. Behind these figures are real people who have been left distraught by this Government’s poor decisions.”
