A deaf ear is being turned by the government to those suffering from the plight of homelessness, according to Social Democrats housing spokesperson Rory Hearne.
Deputy Hearne said:
“The homelessness crisis is undeniable – my office receives a vast volume of representation requests every day from people who are in or at immediate risk of homelessness.
“I can only assume that government TDs are receiving the same, yet they still choose not to propose emergency measures, such as an eviction ban, that would make a genuine difference to those in housing insecurity.
“Large scale evictions have recently been reported in Cork, Kerry and Stillorgan – this is now the norm without an eviction ban.
“It’s no surprise that Threshold has been receiving a mammoth increase in calls for help – last week’s figures show there were 16,614 people living in homeless emergency accommodation at the end of September, including 5,238 children.
“There were almost 10,000 notices to quit issued to private renters in the first 6 months of this year – a tsunami of potential evictions the government is ignoring.
“There has been a complete and utter failure from government to prioritise those in and facing homelessness, showing an abhorrent lack of compassion – based on any evaluation of government housing policy, preventing homelessness is clearly not a focus for the Minister.
“We need to see an immediate rent freeze and rent reduction mechanisms put in place, alongside a ramping-up of social and affordable housing delivery, to end the State’s over-reliance on HAP.”
November 6th, 2025