Cabinet agrees to ban evictions for more than seven weeks
EVICTIONS will be banned for more than seven weeks from this Saturday under new legislation agreed by Cabinet.
The new eviction ban will be linked to the 5km travel restriction which comes into force today as part of the Government’s second national lockdown.
The ban will be in place for the next six weeks, plus an additional 10 days.
The legislation means the eviction moratorium automatically kicks in any time the Government introduces a 5km travel ban to stop the spread of Covid-19.
The legislation will go before the Dáil today and is expected to be signed into law by President Michael D Higgins on Saturday.
A briefing for opposition spokespeople was held yesterday where a number of concerns were raised by TDs and senators.
Speaking after the meeting, Sinn Féin housing spokesperson Eoin Ó Broin said he will be tabling a number of amendments to the legislation.
“My view is Sinn Féin want a ban on evictions so we support
any ban on evictions. But I do have serious concerns about the weak nature of the legislation and we will be seeking to make changes when it comes before the Dáil,” he said. He said he was disappointed the new law did not put in place a ban on rent increases during the second lockdown.
He said the legislation could have been linked to the Government’s ban on household visits rather than travel restrictions.
However, he said this proposal was rejected by housing officials.
“Surely it would be at odds with public health regulations if people have to go viewing houses or people are coming to view houses while the Government have banned household visits,” he said.
Meanwhile, former rural affairs minister Michael Ring has said he will not vote in favour of fines for people in rural Ireland who breach the 5km travel restriction.
Speaking at a Fine Gael parliamentary party, Mr Ring said the Government should have stuck with Level 3 restrictions and made sure they were properly enforced, instead of imposing a Level 5 national lockdown.