Sinn Fein TD says he did not intend to ‘drag’ gardai into eviction ban debate

A Sinn Fein TD has said he did not intend to “drag” gardai into the debate over the eviction ban by posting an artwork to Twitter.

It comes after a Garda representative and Government politicians criticised Eoin O Broin for sharing a piece of art that depicts Garda members and private security at a thatched cottage.

The image appears to compare a forced eviction on Dublin’s Frederick Street in 2018 to evictions carried out during the famine in Ireland in the 19th century.

Mr O Broin shared the image on Twitter and Instagram on Saturday alongside the caption “No words needed”, and credited the artist Mala Spiosrai, also known as “Spicebag”.

Antoinette Cunningham, general secretary of the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors (AGSI), is among those who have criticised the Dublin Mid-West TD for sharing the artwork.

“Gardai do have a role to play in evictions, as we know, but our role is simply to prevent a breach of the peace occurring,” she said on RTE’s Morning Ireland.

“So I suppose in relation to the tweet itself, it does misrepresent the role of gardai and sort of puts us out there and sets society against gardai when we are not the ones that have caused the issue in relation to this Government policy.”

Justice Minister Simon Harris said the post shows what the Sinn Fein party “really think of the gardai”.

“It’s offensive, inappropriate and disrespectful to the men and women of An Garda Siochana,” he said.

On Monday afternoon, Mr O Broin said that he had a “very positive phone conversation” with Ms Cunningham on Monday.

He said on Twitter: “I stressed it was not my intention to offend, criticise or drag An Garda Siochana into a political controversy.

“My intention was solely to highlight the issue of homelessness/evictions & criticise Govt policy.”

People Before Profit-Solidarity TD Paul Murphy accused the Government of attempting to divert attention away from the lifting of the eviction ban, which was lifted on Saturday.

He said: “The pearl clutching by Fine Gael TDs is designed to distract from their responsibility for lifting the eviction ban, and to seek to shut down legitimate criticism of the gardai.

“The fact here is that the Government has allowed for a situation where, over the next number of months, we could see a vast increase in the levels of notices to quit and evictions.

“The Government is responsible for this situation due to the absolute failure of their housing policies – their failure to deliver adequate social and affordable housing.”

It comes as figures from the Residential Tenancies Board showed that it was notified of 4,329 notices to quit in the final three months of last year, with over half reporting that this was because they were selling their properties.

Wayne Stanley, executive director of the Simon Communities of Ireland, said that the figures were “very concerning”.

He said that there were “very few options” for families to find new homes, particularly for those on low or modest incomes.

“The Simon Communities across Ireland are particularly concerned that this will see homelessness grow in the coming weeks and months even beyond the current shocking levels,” he said.

The latest homeless figures, published on Friday, indicate that there are 11,742 people homeless in Ireland, the second highest figure on record.

This figure is based on the number of people in emergency accommodation, and does not count rough sleepers, people in refuges or in direct provision, or people who are couch surfing.

“These figures and the current state of the private rental market further call into question the decision of the government to lift the moratorium on no fault evictions,” he said.