Michael Healy Rae to vote against Government in eviction ban motion

Vivienne Clarke

Kerry TD Michael Healy Rae has said that he will be voting against the Government when Sinn Féin puts forward a motion to extend the eviction ban “in the absence of any other sensible proposal.”

The Rural Independents group, of which he is a member, will be putting forward a number of amendments, he told RTÉ radio’s Morning Ireland.

The Government had not used the time during the eviction ban “to do anything” he said, but Sinn Féin had not done anything either and continued to “demonise” people who rented properties, he said.

Sinn Féin needed to realise that extending the eviction ban was not a magic bullet, it was “kicking the can down the road.”

Mr Healy-Rae, who owns a number of rental properties, said he was fearful for constituents who came to him worried where they were going to go when the eviction ban was lifted. When asked if any of his tenants would be evicted, Mr Healy-Rae, said no.

The Government was not doing enough to provide housing so it would continue to need the rental sector, but landlords were “leaving in droves”.

Mr Healy-Rae said that the people who “shouted the loudest” in the Dáil were the same people who had objected to “thousands” of homes being built in their constituencies. “That doesn’t make sense.”

The Rural Independents group will meet on Tuesday to finalise the amendments to be tabled to the Sinn Féin motion, he said.

Meanwhile, Green Party TD Neasa Hourigan wrote in the Sunday Independent over the weekend stating her intention to vote against the Government, and back the motion to retain the eviction ban.

The Dublin Central TD has been critical of the ending of the ban, and will support the opposition's motion in the Dáil.

Deputy Hourigan said there are "hundreds of children" in her constituency who are homeless.

Labour leader Ivana Bacik has also confirmed that her party will be supporting the motion brought by Sinn Féin.

"We have made clear that we will be supporting this opposition motion tabled by Sinn Féin, which calls on the Government to extend the ban on evictions until the end of January 2024, and to put in place a number of emergency mechanisms to ensure that there will be protection for those who would be facing eviction by the end of the ban — in other words, after the end of January 2024," she said.