Young mother from Leitrim issued with a notice of termination from a landlord

The  rising number of notices of termination in Leitrim and surrounding areas, was discussed in the Seanad this week with young mothers and families in Leitrim among those who have been served notices. 

Speaking in the Seanad, Labour Senator Nessa Cosgrove said she believes that homelessness has become normalised. "We know that the biggest cause of homelessness is people being evicted from private rental, and we can see as a direct result of the residential tenancies Bill that 43% of homeless figures are made up of people who have been given notices to quit."

She said that this week, on the train to Dublin, she was approached by a young mother from Leitrim who works in a Government Department. "She has been issued with a notice of termination from a landlord whom she rented from for five years. The week before it was a family who have been in long-term rental through the local authority and the landlord decided to sell. The week before that it was a single woman who successfully maintained a tenancy for 14 years."

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She said she also spoke to a single man expressing suicidal ideation because of his homelessness2 situation. A friend of mine with children has lived in a tenancy for 14 years. Her children have lived with her and grown up there and they have been served with an eviction notice." 

She noted that since 2016, homelessness levels have soared by almost 150%. 

She concluded: "A construction company is something we have been calling for for a long time, and to go back on the reset clause. That has caused mayhem. This will never be normal. This has been caused by poor decision making on the part of the Minister of State's party and that of Fine Gael."