THE GOVERNMENT SHOULD consider an emergency eviction ban for a defined period of time to take the pressure off existing emergency homeless services, a new Oireachtas Housing Committee report has recommended. 

The committee of 14 members, eight of which are government members, calls for an emergency response to the homelessness crisis and describes a “deep concern” at the rising numbers in homelessness. 

It said an eviction ban should be kept under constant review by this government, alongside an emergency package of measures. 

However, speaking in Brussels today where he is attending an EU Council meeting, the Taoiseach dismissed the suggestion, stating that an eviction ban would only suppress supply. 

Micheál Martin said it would be the wrong policy to pursue as it would discourage investment.

He added that the policies being pursued by the government aims to increase supply, not depress it.

“That is the urgent imperative. So we don’t want to take measures that, in our judgment, would suppress supply,” he said. 

Tánaiste Simon Harris said it is a “considered view of government that when this has happened in the past, it hasn’t had the effect that people hoped it would actually have”.

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He said the government has brought in a number of protections for tenants. 

“The key focus of the government remains increasing supply, and we see some encouraging data in relation to that,” he said.

The report also makes a number of recommendations around child and family homelessness. Harris said the government is actively considering the issue, stating that a new plan on child and family homelessness will be brought to cabinet by Housing Minister James Browne to before the summer recess.