This morning, I was aghast to hear the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage confirm to my colleague, Deputy Duncan Smith, that his Department has no modelling on the projected effect on homelessness rates of lifting the eviction ban. I was further aghast to read a parliamentary question reply to my office this morning, setting out the criteria used to justify lifting the ban in this way at this time. In the four paragraph reply I received, meteorological conditions got nearly two paragraphs and pressure on homeless services got one line to justify the duration of the eviction ban.

It is clear that the Government does not know the effect of the decision it has taken to lift the eviction ban with only three weeks to go until families start to get eviction notices. We are facing a social disaster and a potential tsunami of evictions in this country, with a return to the heartbreaking scenes we had some years ago of children having to sleep on the floor of Garda stations. This is a dreadful scenario and it is clear from the replies we got this morning that the Government has no evidence before it on the basis of which the decision was unexpectedly taken on Tuesday to lift the eviction ban. Will the Government reverse that decision?

The advice from officials in the Department was very strong in stating that continuing the eviction ban would lead to real damage to housing supply and the rental market and would make the situation far worse. That was the evidence and is the proposition that was put to Government.

There is no model.

Make the situation worse, if you want to, with a short-term sticking plaster effect, or try to deal with the homeless issue through parallel measures, which we are going to-----

The Government is not doing either.

We are doing with the tenant in situ purchase, leasing and adjustments to the capital advance leasing facility, CALF, model.

Seven houses.

Ending the eviction ban is simply reprehensible. To end it now, during this time of crisis, while announcing schemes which the Government has no details of or dates for the necessary legislation is an abdication of duty and people will suffer. Renters are bearing the brunt of one of the harshest cost-of-living crises in the history of the State and the Government is going to offer them first refusal on a property which it knows quite well they will not be able to afford. If the Tánaiste's phone rings in four weeks and a family shows up at his clinic, saying they are about to be made homeless, will he actually look that family in the eye? Does he expect me to look that family in the eye and tell them not to worry because they have first refusal to buy? That is a joke. It is cruel and it will cause harm. Until there is legislation and a date for the scheme that has been proposed, I ask the Tánaiste to continue with the eviction ban, because lifting it will hurt people.

The Deputy does not have a monopoly on compassion.

I did not say I had a monopoly. I asked a question. Answer the question.

The Deputies imply this all of the time. The issue is we want to look people in the eye and say that we are taking decisions based on evidence and taking right decisions to help people.

What evidence?

What evidence?

The supply situation would be made far worse if the ban was continued.

Show us the evidence.

I am talking through the Chair. The Deputy asked a question.

People's lives are on the line.

He either wants an answer or he does not want an answer.

Do not waffle.

That is it. I am not responding to that nonsense.

That is it; sit down; you have nothing to say.