I move:

That leave be granted to introduce a Bill entitled an Act to provide for the automatic extension of notice periods with respect to residential tenancies where a tenant is certified as at risk of homelessness and for that purpose to amend the Residential Tenancies Act 2004 and to provide for related matters.

As the House knows, homelessness among adults and children has increased in each of the past four months. That increase is directly related to the dramatic rise in notices to quit issued since the Government lifted the ban on such notices. This morning, the Simon Communities of Ireland launched this simple but important Bill which gives local authorities greater powers to try to prevent families and children from becoming homeless. It is supported by five Opposition groupings on the floor of the Dáil today. It will be introduced on Second Stage during Sinn Féin's Private Members' time next week. We all need to shift the focus onto homelessness prevention. We need to ensure our local authorities have every power to prevent adults and children from losing their homes and entering emergency accommodation. On that basis, I warmly commend the Bill to the House.

We, in the Labour Party, are pleased to co-sign this important Bill. It is simple and straightforward. It is short, but if enacted, its impact would be far reaching. It would greatly support those families, all too many of whom have tried hard to find alternative accommodation often late on a Friday evening, but are suddenly left without a roof over their heads because of an eviction notice. This important Bill is about preventing homelessness, giving space to tenants and local authorities to work together to stop the threat of eviction becoming a reality. We thank the Simon Communities of Ireland and all our colleagues who have supported the Bill. I hope it will indeed attract cross-party support and, in particular, support from the Government. I commend the Simon Communities of Ireland on their work on the Bill.

Homelessness causes trauma. It uproots families from their communities, friends and support networks. All of us in this House, whether in opposition or in government, have a responsibility to work together to try to tackle homelessness. This is a very practical Bill which puts the focus exactly where it should be: on preventing homelessness. Whatever we can do to tackle homelessness is very worthwhile. It is highly beneficial to prevent the trauma of homelessness in the first place. There is cross-party support on the Opposition benches. I appeal to the Government parties to support the Bill and ensure that it progresses quickly through the Oireachtas. It needs to be implemented as quickly as possible and worked on urgently so that we can make headway in reducing the number of people becoming homeless.

I commend the Simon Communities of Ireland on this extremely important Bill. Last week, a man came to my clinic with an eviction date in a couple of weeks. He broke down crying in front of me because he thought he and his family would be out on the street. He was absolutely racked with terror at that possibility. This happens week in, week out. This man had done nothing wrong. He had worked all his life and then had an injury which prevented him from working and impacted on his circumstances. Now he is faced with homelessness. We cannot allow this to continue and this is an important measure in giving tenants and local authorities some opportunity to try to prevent people being flung out on the street or into emergency accommodation. It will prevent that kind of despair, hardship and suffering for people who do not deserve it and who, like everybody else, should have the right to a secure roof over their heads. I hope the Government will support the Bill.

I welcome the opportunity, along with fellow Opposition Deputies, to introduce this Bill on behalf of the Simon Communities of Ireland. I am supporting the Bill because it is a progressive step for people facing increasing notices to quit and will protect them from eviction and homelessness. In October, 8,830 women, men and children were in emergency accommodation, an increase of 4.2% on September. The Residential Tenancies (Amendment) (Extension of Notice Periods) Bill 2021 will allow local authorities to determine whether a person or family is at risk of homelessness and this will then trigger an extension in the notice period of that person's or family's tenancy in order to avoid entry into emergency accommodation at the end of the four-week period. It also proposes to change the tenancy law so that a person or family at risk of homelessness is provided with a three-month extension to their notice period. I believe every party can support the Bill and I look forward to next week's debate on 14 December when the Government parties will have an opportunity to support it.

I thank the Simon Communities of Ireland for all their good work on this legislation. I particularly thank the North West Simon Community for all its help to me in providing good information and background. This is a straightforward, practical proposal which does exactly what it says on the tin. Where the housing authority certifies that a tenant, who is under threat to quit, is at risk of homelessness, a three-month extension will be granted. There will be protections for landlords. This is not simply postponing the inevitable. The three months will then be used to help secure accommodation so that families do not become homeless because of a lack of early intervention. Homelessness is not just an urban problem. While it may be more visible in urban areas, in 2020 the North West Simon Community provided accommodation and-or support to 256 adults and 243 children in the north west. It is a national issue that needs a national response and this Bill provides it.

Is the Bill opposed?

No.

Since this is a Private Members' Bill, Second Stage must, under Standing Orders, be taken in Private Members' time.

I move: "That the Bill be taken in Private Members' time."