DUBLIN, Ireland: A surge in evictions at the end of last year has shown that the rental system in Ireland has spiraled out of control, opposition TDs have argued.

People Before Profit leader Richard Boyd Barrett has called for a ban on eviction and a dramatic ramp-up of the tenant-in-situ scheme. He added that the eviction data shows the housing and homelessness crisis is "still out of control".

New data from the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) show it received 5,207 eviction notices in the last three months of the year, a 41 percent increase compared to the same period the previous year.

More than 60 percent of these notices were issued because landlords said they planned to sell their properties.

The RTB's quarterly report also said the rental market in Ireland grew at the end of 2025, with large landlords (those owning over 100 properties) continuing to expand.

Across the country, the number of registered private rentals increased slightly by 1.1 percent, reaching 243,598 in the final quarter of the year.

Research conducted by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) found that rents continued to rise. In the third quarter, rents rose by 5.4 percent for new tenants and 4.6 percent for existing tenants.

On average, new renters paid 1,776 euros per month, while existing tenants paid 1,494 euros per month.

These figures are from before the government introduced new rental reforms on March 1, which opposition parties warned could worsen homelessness.

Recent data from the Department of Housing showed that 17,112 people were in emergency accommodation in the last week of January, including 11,793 adults and 5,319 children.

Eoin Ó Broin, Sinn Féin's housing spokesperson, called for a ban on evictions where tenants are not at fault. He said many renters now face either higher rents or the risk of becoming homeless due to the rise in eviction notices. He added that renters are now more vulnerable than before the government passed its controversial rent laws, and that rents had already been rising before the new rules took effect.

Labour's housing spokesperson Conor Sheehan said the number of eviction notices is "completely unsustainable." He pointed out that there have already been four large-scale evictions in 2026, with more expected, and accused the government of allowing the situation to worsen through its rent policies.

He also called for an eviction ban, saying renters need urgent protection from what he described as a housing crisis caused by the policies of Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil.