A bill on extending the eviction ban will be debated in the Dáil today. 

The current ban introduced by the Government is due to expire at the end of March but People Before Profit argue it needs to be extended to prevent further increases in the number of homelessness. 

“We believe they should give that certainty,” Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett said. 

“We would hope certainly much of the opposition will support us in saying that we cannot have a situation where more people who have done nothing wrong, paid their rent, are evicted into homelessness when we already have record numbers of people in homelessness.” 

D87A43 Traditional "cottage houses" in the inner-city area of North Strand, Dublin, Republic of Ireland

Only those who damage property, breach their lease or act in an anti-social manner could be evicted if the ban is extended and the Government has expressed concerns about its legality. 

On Monday, Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien said the Government had not made a decision on whether the ban should remain in place beyond March. 

“No decision has been made regarding the proposed extension of the eviction ban,” he said. 

“It’s important that people know that that’s in place, not just to the end of March, but for most people it’s scaled to 18th June this year. 

“I did say at the time when I brought it in that it was a temporary measure and it would allow us the opportunity to do things like the purchase of homes with tenants in situ - which we’ve been doing right across the country.”