The fact that 7,000 households across the country have been given an eviction notice in the first three months of this year is terrifying, and we do not know where they are going to go. Behind every eviction is a person or a family who is seriously at risk of homelessness because there are simply not enough houses out there for them. There is already a severe shortage and the more pressure that is put landlords to leave the market, they are leaving the market, and it is going to become unbearable. We should not be surprised because the Minister of State has been told time and time again. Instead of protecting tenants, the new rental laws introduced in March have ultimately hurt them in the long run. People are already stretched to breaking point. Every young person I talk to says ownership feels alien to them. They are not going to be able to own homes. An entire generation is reliant on rentals and now they are facing the situation where eviction will become reality. The situation in Donegal has gone beyond desperate. We already have a defective concrete crisis in Donegal, where we are trying to help tens of thousands of people to rebuild their homes. There are 35 properties in Donegal for rent today at, on average, €1,600. If we get 100 people going tomorrow and their families moving forward in the defective concrete crisis, where are they going to rent, on top of what is coming ahead? There is nowhere; the scheme grinds to a halt. Homelessness becomes normalised and that is what has happened. We are facing homelessness on an unprecedented scale and it has to be addressed and looked at as an emergency. We need to stop playing political games with it and realise that in the next year or so, 7,000 will become 10,000. That is the reality. My constituents in Donegal are facing this every day. While you are looking at filling in for a scheme and going forward with your family and 100 or 200 people go forward, where are they going to go? There is nowhere for them to rent and there is nowhere for them to go so they have to stay in their houses that are crumbling. We have been saying this time and time again and it has to be listened to. The Government needs to put emergency legislation in place. It is clear that it needs to be introduced because if it is not introduced now, the Government is going to be introducing it within the next year or two anyway. It should take control of the situation. The Minister of State is in the Government. He is in charge. We need him to stand up and be counted.

Sentiment score: -0.19