There are people seeking medication to deal with the stress of being forced out of their homes, the Simon Community has said.

The eviction ban will expire on March 31st, with the Government saying it accept that homeless figures will but ending the moratorium is the 'right decision' in the 'medium-term'.

Opposition parties and homelessness charities have called for the ban to be immediately re-instated amid fears of the number of people in need of emergency accommodation sky-rocketing.

Wayne Stanley, Executive Director of Simon Communities, says any hope people had has crumbled.

He told Newstalk: “I’m hearing stories of mothers and families going to the doctor and being prescribed medication to try and deal with the stress they’re under.”

“It is enormous and devastating.”

“I know what it felt like for me when I saw the notice come in that it wasn’t going to be extended. I can’t imagine what that was like for somebody who was hanging on to that hope to maintain their home.”

Has it helped?

The eviction ban hasn't stopped the homelessness crisis from worsening, but it is believed that the figures would have been much higher had the moratorium not been in place.

According to the Taoiseach, the eviction ban “didn’t work”.

A tsunami of evictions is expected in the coming weeks once the ban expires.

4,742 notices of termination were issued to tenants between July and September of last year.

Almost 40% of the notices to quit were given to households in Dublin.

Sinn Féin's spokesperson for housing Eoin O'Broin, who has advocated for an extension on the ban, said: "We did see a 10% drop in family presentations."

"The problem, however, is we weren't able to get enough people out of emergency accommodation because government were missing their social and affordable housing targets."

Main image shows houses on Gordon Street in Dublin. Picture by: Dermot Blackburn / Alamy Stock Photo