Bacik urges Government backing for eviction ban

• 50% increase in eviction notices issued to renters
• Rents more than doubled in 10 years
• Increased 50% since pandemic 

Labour leader Ivana Bacik TD urged the Taoiseach to change course on housing and introduce emergency eviction ban to stem the flow of renters being evicted from the private rental market into homelessness.

Deputy Bacik said renters have already endured more than a decade of failure from Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael on housing, and something must change to give people hope that they will find an affordable home.

Deputy Bacik said:

“The Taoiseach is presiding over record levels of homelessness, with child homelessness particularly stark as we understand that 5,571 children are recorded as living in homeless accommodation.

“Just last week, the Rental Tenancies Board published data showing that Government’s botched rental reforms have triggered a wave of evictions which will drive more and more people into homelessness.

“Government’s long-mooted rental changes effectively gave private landlords a year’s notice that they could jack up rents, but only if they evicted their existing tenants before the end of March. Government ultimately rushed this deeply flawed legislation through the Houses, guillotining debate.

“In the first three months of 2026 alone, more than 7,000 eviction notices were issued. Unfortunately, rather than committing to changing course and committing to take on board Labour Party proposals, the Taoiseach instead offered spin and bluster to me in the Dáil chamber.

“Out in Galway and in Dublin, over recent weeks I’ve met renters in tears, wondering where they will go next.  Like the family in Cabra – two parents who are both working, two teenage children – they have spent the last eighteen months in a homeless hub because they simply can’t find anywhere to rent or buy.

“I have spoken before about our experience of meeting renters who are contemplating suicide – because their situation has become so desperate. People need hope and they need Government action to resolve this crisis.

“The RTB numbers and homeless figures are more than data by which we measure Government success on housing – they are people who are in need of real protections, they need a no-fault eviction ban and they need Government to go back to the drawing board on rental regulations.

“Rather than the Taoiseach lecturing me in the Dáil, I would urge him to work with haste to see the introduction of an eviction ban which renters are crying out for across the country.”