Tenant in Situ scheme is failing families

• Labour leader slams inaction on evictions crisis

Labour Leader Ivana Bacik TD has today called for urgent Government action to address Ireland’s escalating housing crisis, following Leaders’ Questions in the Dáil where she raised the failure of the Tenant in Situ scheme and the ongoing problem of no-fault evictions. With the latest homelessness figures due this Friday, Deputy Bacik warned that the Government is ignoring constructive proposals and failing families facing a cliff-edge.

Deputy Bacik said:

“This Friday, new homelessness figures will be published – but we already know the shameful truth. There are currently 15,378 people in homelessness, including 4,675 children. Each number represents a personal tragedy – and a failure of Government policy.

“Evictions from the private rental sector are continuing unchecked, and Government is making things worse by gutting the Tenant in Situ scheme. Families who should be protected are left in limbo, with applications mired in bureaucracy and most destined to fail.

“In Limerick, for example, my colleague Deputy Conor Sheehan has confirmed that 107 Tenant in Situ cases are currently on hold. Only 20 to 25 are expected to be completed this year. That means desperate families are wasting time they cannot afford – time they should be spending trying to find a safe place to live.

“We heard today about one mother of three, a healthcare worker, who has lived in her rented home for nearly 20 years. She’s facing eviction, and after months trying to access the Cost Rental Tenant in Situ scheme, her case was dropped. She is ineligible for every form of State support – social housing, HAP, local authority loans, first-time buyer schemes. She can’t even overhold because it would put her job at risk.

“In her own words: ‘I am still just 2 weeks away from homelessness… Everybody has been very kind and sympathetic to my situation… but nobody is coming back to me with any answers or hope for me and my family’.

“This is not an isolated case. Across the country, many families are at the edge of eviction – with nowhere to turn. The Government promised they would not fall off that cliff. But they are falling – and they are being ignored.

“For five months, the new Housing Minister has done nothing to address these cases. Worse, the Government has refused to engage seriously with Labour’s proposals. We submitted a four-part plan to tackle the crisis. We’ve shared our manifesto. We’ve offered constructive solutions. But it’s like shouting into the void.

“This failure of policy has real consequences. People are being failed by the State. They are being failed by this Government. Labour is calling for immediate action to expand and streamline the Tenant in Situ scheme, to end no-fault evictions, and to ensure families are never left without a roof over their heads. It’s time for the Government to stop ignoring reality – and start listening to the people they claim to serve. They must act now.”