Last week, the eyes of the world were on Ballina in County Mayo when Joe Biden came to visit us. This week, a report in the Mayo News states a Ballina mother is begging for help as the prospect of having nowhere to live becomes more and more real with every passing day, as she talks about the lifting of the eviction ban. She said she has never begged for anything in her life but she is begging now and pleading for help and for something to stop her and her children having to live on the street. Speaking of her children, she said she tells them everything will be okay. When they are not there, she locks herself in the dark and just cries. She tries to keep the good side out all the time but the days tick by and she is becoming more desperate. Will the Government reinstate the eviction ban until such time as this mother and family and all of the mothers and families I am dealing with have somewhere to go? They have gone to the council. She told me she looks on the website every hour. There is nowhere for these people to go.

I reiterate that the reason the eviction ban was lifted was that to keep it going and retain it or extend it would have made the situation far worse for many people. People are exiting and there is an exodus from the private rental market. The number of houses available to rent has been reducing over the last two to three years. That is, in my view, because of the lack of certainty regarding the regulatory framework governing it and policies. Sinn Féin over time has demonised small landlords.

That is not true.

It did, without question. It attacked them. People are saying they are better off out of the market. The strong advice we received was that it would make the housing situation worse and make homelessness worse if we proceeded. We have brought in measures. I do not know the circumstances of the case the Deputy raised. The council has resources to buy out that house, if possible. I am not sure of the circumstances.