Labour Party leader Ivana Bacik has called for an extension to the eviction ban, saying that if it were to end on April 1st, there would be a "deluge of evictions".

The latest figures show that more than 11,600 people are currently homeless in Ireland, including more than 3,000 children - the highest number on record.

Meanwhile there has been a ban on evictions in most circumstances until the end of March.

The Labour Party tabled a motion in the Dáil last week which proposes that the moratorium be extended until the end of 2023.

The proposal also involves seven other emergency housing measures including an expansion of the Tenants in Situ scheme, where the council can buy a property from a landlord looking to sell without evicting current tenants.

'Cliff edge'

The goal is to alleviate pressure on housing in the short-term, the Dublin Bay South TD told On The Record.

Deputy Bacik believes that the published number of homeless people "does not reflect the true figure", which includes adults living with parents, those in housing insecurity and those couch surfing.

Some 40% of workers under 35 are still living with their parents.

"I think we're all very conscious that this would be a temporary emergency measure, that under the constitution there would have to be a proportionality to it", Deputy Bacik said.

"I think there is a really serious case to be made for extending the ban beyond the current term, and indeed the government themselves, I think, many members have acknowledged the need for that."

"It's too much of a cliff edge to see the ban simply expiring on the 1st of April and we will see, unfortunately, a deluge of evictions at that point."

Efficacy

There is no evidence that an eviction ban put in place last November has actually worked, according to Financial Advisor and Analyst Karl Deeter.

He told Newstalk Breakfast homelessness has actually increased.

"No one believes in an outright ban, so calling it that actually from the starting point is probably a mistake", he said.

"Homelessness increased while it was in place; there's not a lot of evidence that it's worked, and there's a lot of victims to a policy like this."

"We fund and have a really, decently-oiled machine for dealing with homelessness."

Mr Deeter said everyone agrees that people going into homelessness "is bad" but "this ban is probably not the best way to approach it."

"The way to fix this isn't to say 'If I said you're sick I'd say go to a hospital, if you're homeless go to homeless services'.

"I wouldn't say 'If you're sick, go to a butcher' - this is a backward way of looking at the issue.

"We fund and have a really, decently-oiled machine for dealing with homelessness."

Listen back to the full conversation here.

Main image shows Labour's Ivana Bacik speaking at the Dail plinth outside Leinster House. Picture by: Leah Farrell/RollingNews.ie