Bríd Smith: Lift of eviction ban will spark 'tsunami of evictions'
Bríd Smith spoke in the Dáil on 28 July 2020, opposing the minister's plan to lift the eviction ban from 10 August and warning it would open the floodgates to evictions. She argued the bill prioritises landlords' rights over tenants' health and security and urged TDs who are landlords to abstain from the vote.
Primary accusation
She accused the minister of introducing a "massive attack on renters and on tenants" by lifting the eviction ban and said the bill is framed as a temporary emergency while chiefly protecting private landlord rights.
Eviction grounds from 10 August
She outlined that from 10 August landlords could evict for renovation, change of use, wanting to use the home for a relative and chiefly for the sale of a property, and cited research from Threshold and Simon showing those reasons drive evictions more than rent arrears.
Public health and insecurity
She warned the lift will create fear and insecurity for families amid the ongoing COVID-19 public health threat, criticised the assumption people can "budget differently" or be referred to MABs, and described those responses as an insult in light of permanent income loss.
Calls on TDs and parties
She publicly called on any TD who is a landlord to abstain or be absent for the vote, accused the Attorney General's advice of vested interests as noted by a colleague, and appealed directly to the Green Party not to support the bill while accusing Fianna Fáil and Fianna Gael of looking after landlords.
Amendments and wider protections sought
She said the amendment she supported would extend protections to people in rental rooms, casual licensees and the travelling community, criticised the bill for only addressing arrears and postponing broader relief to January, and warned the measure will return the rental market "back to normal" with rising rents and insecurity.
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Goethe Cian Coorle. Minister, I listened to your introduction and couched in the language of helping tenants. In reality, what you're doing is introducing a massive attack on renters and on tenants. I don't know if you understand the fear and the insecurity that is in the hearts of many families with this lifting of the eviction ban from the 10th of August. And we believe that this will open the floodgates for evictions. Your language in the bill makes it clear that your chief concern is explaining that the measure is temporary and is emergency, but that the rights of the private landlord must be protected at all times. That this is only because of COVID-19 and for a short period. You do not seem to understand the public health threat that exists. But what I picked up from your speech was almost the smell of fear that you are daring to interfere with landlords' rights and you can't wait to make an emergency measure that will not affect as many people as you claim, but will only protect a minority of tenants. The Labour Party, on the other hand, seem to think that you are making a mistake. This is not a mistake. Your priority is to get back to normal and to look after your own class. The landlord party of Fianna Fáil and Fianna Gael, with the Greens again acting as a mudguard, are looking after their own. And I would appeal to some journalists out there to do the research and find out how many landlords are in the current Dáil, like they did in the last one. So from the 10th of August, landlords can evict away for reasons of renovation, change of use, wanting to use the home for a relative and chiefly for the sale of a property. And despite this, our own library and research services, Threshold, Simon, etc. have shown that the main reason for evictions is not rent arrears, it's for all of the above that I just mentioned. This bill actually shows us that we're not all in this together by any manner of means. And any TD in this House, and I'm making this a public call, who is a landlord, should abstain from the vote. Just as Deputy Boyd Barrett pointed out that the advice given to you by the Attorney General had vested interest in it, any TD, who is a landlord, has a vested interest in voting for this bill, they should abstain and absent themselves from the House. It's inconceivable that they would allow what will be a tsunami of evictions take place after the 10th of August. We're still in the middle of that pandemic, and the amendment that we put to strengthen this bill should still apply to those in rental rooms, and casual licensees, the travelling community in particular. If the arrears are not the main issue for evictions, then why is that the only issue that's being addressed here? It's because you can't wait to give the landlords and the vulture funds the freedom they need, and you're just kicking the can down the road, even for those in arrears, you're kicking the can down the road to January. And you assume in this bill that people could do better by budgeting differently, so you refer them to MABs, etc. It's a total insult. There's no account taken of the permanent loss of income that many people will suffer. So we're back to normal, back to rent increases, back to people not being able to access rental accommodation because the rents are too high. And as the kids return to school and the public health threat remains, you are putting many families into a very fearful and unpredictable future. I would say what this bill is doing today is splitting the heads of people and giving them a plaster for their finger. That's exactly what you're doing to renters and people who are relying on private tenancies. And finally, and I will probably make a pre-recorded message of this and have to replay it and replay it time and time again. That's the way it's looking. I appeal to the Green Party, do not vote for this bill. That is not why people voted for you. That is not the sort of change that you got elected on the promise of.
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