Unprecedented number of notices to quit issued in Carlow
Carlow County Council offices
A MOTION calling on Carlow Co Council to work with the Department of Housing to provide more emergency accommodation was passed by councillors at the May meeting.
The motion was proposed by cllr Adrienne Wallace, who told the meeting that at present there is an unprecedented number of notices to quit being issued to people in Carlow who could not find alternative private rented accommodation as there is a shortage in the county.
Cllr Wallace told the meeting that she knew of families who had been waiting to be placed in emergency accommodation for months. She said that for people who are issued with notices to quit and have nowhere else to go, it leads to “a huge amount of fear and stress”.
“I meet people very single week that have tears in their eyes because of the stress and anxiety of this situation. It’s horrible to see people in Carlow having to experience this,” cllr Wallace said.
Calling the situation a “crisis”, cllr Wallace laid the blame on local government. According to cllr Wallace, there has been a great upturn in the number of people issued with notices to quit since the eviction ban that was introduced during Covid was lifted in 2023.
She then called for a mass movement, stating that this is the only way the government will listen.
Deputy mayor of Carlow cllr Fergal Browne (Fine Gael) seconded and supported the motion but disagreed with cllr Wallace’s description and solution to the current housing crisis.
“The idea that there was a mass eviction order after the thing was lifted isn’t correct, as far as I know,” cllr Browne said.
He went on to say that people need to stop “bashing landlords” as the country needs people to encourage others to rent out properties they own.
Cllr Browne finished by saying: “I know we’re not where we want to be, but we need to have a mixture of everything in the housing market to have a functioning housing market.”
