Rose Conway-Walsh Challenges Government on Housing and Evictions
Rose Conway-Walsh spoke about the housing crisis in Mayo, citing long-delayed LAS roads, rising rents and increasing homelessness. She pressed the Taoiseach on a no-fault eviction ban and asked when a housing emergency would be declared.
Local concerns in Mayo
There are LAS roads in Mayo that have been waiting for 30 years, she said, and renters in the county are deeply concerned about rising costs and continued increases in homelessness. The county of Michael Davitt is now described as a place where many families are petrified of not having a home to call their own.
Vulnerable people under pressure
She highlighted older people who are "worried sick" about the prospect of becoming homeless and warned that too many people with disabilities are living in precarious conditions. She recounted speaking this week to a disabled woman who was trying to cut back on groceries just to afford an exorbitant rent, asking how that can be acceptable in one of the richest countries in the world.
Questioning government claims and landlords
Conway-Walsh condemned the government’s declaration about 40,000 new homes being built last year as cruel and deliberate and challenged the Taoiseach on whether renters are expected to pay higher rents to guarantee the profits of institutional landlords. She urged clarity on when a housing emergency will be declared.
Debate over no-fault evictions and rental supply
A government respondent replied that no proposals had been made to end PZs and said the intention is to help and support renters. The respondent also warned that implementing a no-fault eviction ban could reduce supply over time and harm prospects of getting more people and funds into the rental market, stressing the need for a stable environment to increase rental availability.
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There are LAS roads in Mayo that have been waiting for 30 years. Renters in Mayo are deeply concerned about the rising costs of rents and the continued increases in homelessness in the county. The county of Michael Davitt, the founder of the Land League in 1879, is now a county where so many families are petrified of not having a home to call their own. Yet you and your government seem no cause to implement a no-fault eviction ban. The great improper declaration of the 40,000 new homes being built last year was very cruel and deliberate. Now we have an increasing number of older people worried sick about being made homeless. Again, too many people with disabilities are living in precarious conditions. Just this week I spoke to a disabled woman who was trying to work out how she could cut back on groceries just to be able to afford the exorbitant rent. How can this be acceptable in one of the richest countries in the world? Is this acceptable to you Taoiseach? And are you really of the opinion that renters need to pay higher rents to guarantee the profits of institutional landlords? When are you going to declare a housing emergency? Conway Walsh, again we have made no proposals to end our PZs. We want to help and support renters. And again, you've proposed a no-fault eviction ban. If you get into that area, you will reduce supply in time. That's the type of thing and interventions that will hit any chance of getting more people into the rental market. And this is all a balance. But I think over the last number of years, people have been unsure of what government will do next. And there needs to be a stable environment to get more people into the rental market, both individuals, but also funds and so forth.
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