Housing charity calls for extension on Covid-19 emergency ban for evictions

A housing charity has had a 20% increase in new cases during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Threshold says calls about rent arrears have tripled - with some people owing as much as €2,800.

There has also been a 12-fold increase in queries about rent supplements.

Chief executive John-Mark McCafferty is calling for the government to extend the ban on evictions, as it is due to expire on June 27.

He says: "We know this crisis is a lot deeper and lot lengthier than first anticipated.

"What we are looking for really is for that emergency legislation to be extended, that's a really important point."