Independent councillor Gavin Pepper says that the Finglas family, who were being subject to eviction by bailiffs in a widely-viewed video, have nowhere to go and cannot end up on the streets.
The video showing Cllr Pepper’s intervention in the intended eviction is going viral, and while the councillor says he understands the City Sheriff was carrying out a court order, he added that he could not simply stand by and watch a family being put out during a housing crisis that is not of their making.
He said that the buck ultimately stopped with the Housing Minister in regard to what was happening – and he believed that the process had now been halted until a meeting with the Council to find alternative accommodation for the family had taken place.
Cllr Pepper, who lives on the same road in Finglas, said that he had been contacted by the family who told him that they were not behind in their rent, but had been served with an eviction notice as the landlord, who lives abroad, was selling the property.
“My kids are in there, and my Dad is in hospice,” the mother of the family can be heard saying in the video. “I was in the hospice last night until half-twelve.” While she was at first blocked from gaining access to the home, she later gained access.
“I am looking for somewhere to live,” the visibly upset mother said to the Sheriff, who said that he was enforcing the court order. He had told Cllr Pepper earlier in the video that the family had been told two weeks previously they would have to leave.
Cllr Pepper told Gript: “The landlord gave notice, but she has nowhere else to go. Then the bailiffs called to her door and said they would be back to enforce the order, and she was understandably very upset.”
The City Sheriff can be seen on the video saying that the court had ordered him to take possession of the house.
“She rang me to say they were at the door around 9.30 am,” Cllr Pepper told Gript. “I flew down the road because you can’t stand by and watch something like that happening. It’s heartbreaking,” he said. ”
“There has to be a red line for us as a nation, we can’t have this situation, with families being put out on the road,” he added. “They have nowhere to go. The Sheriff is just doing his job, but the situation is so wrong.”
“The Gardai have enough to do with dealing with actual crime, are they also going to be sent out to deal with evicting families?” he said.
He said the Sheriff was now also seeing if he could be of assistance in trying to get accommodation for the family.
Cllr Pepper said that the media often misrepresented the work of Independent councillors, who he said were on the ground and listening to ordinary people most impacted by the housing and cost of living crisis.
“The State should be building houses and looking after Irish people,” he said. “The government doesn’t seem to care.”
Amongst the responses on social media were many comments sympathetic to the family: “This is absolutely appalling what they are doing to young Irish families, so they can house the world. Thankfully, there are still decent people like Gavin Pepper standing up for Irish families,” was one view.