It is a ‘dark day’ for Ireland’s homeless population, the Simon Communities has warned.
It comes after the Government last night won a Dáil vote on the eviction ban by 83 votes to 68.
The ban will now be lifted at the end of the month as planned.
Sinn Féin had tabled a motion calling for the ban to be extended to January of next year, warning that thousands of households are facing eviction in a matter of days.
The Government had argued that the extension would just push the issue further down the road – with even more people facing eviction at the height of winter.
"Abandoned"
Simon Communities Executive Director Wayne Stanley told Newstalk tenants facing eviction feel they have been abandoned by Government.
“The reason we were calling for an extension of the moratorium wasn’t that we would have a never-ending moratorium,” he said.
“We accepted that was an emergency action – but we needed time for these initiatives to bed in and protect people.
“I think the overriding sense that I am getting from people who are contacting our services is that the Government has really abandoned them.”
“Dark day”
He said homeless charities are finding it “really, really difficult” to keep people safe.
“We don’t know if some of the capacity that the Government are attempting to put in through the local authorities is going to materialise.
“It is very, very difficult even to provide additional emergency accommodation at the moment.
“Again, we are going to be working hard to make sure that people are safe and are kept safe. That's our job we are on the front line of this but it is really, really difficult and it is a dark day.”
Eviction ban
Green Party TD Neasa Hourigan was last night suspended from her parliamentary party after voting against the Government on the ban.
She will be suspended for 15 months, will be stripped of her Oireachtas committee positions and has lost the party whip.
Meanwhile, Labour has confirmed that it will now table a motion of no confidence in the Government.
There were 11,754 people in emergency accommodation in January, according to Government homeless figures – yet another record high for the country.
The figures from the Department of Housing don't include refugees, asylum seekers, women in refuge centres, or rough sleepers.
