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Man arrested during Waterford eviction as gardaí say they had ‘no role’ in event

Tenants’ rights group CATU claimed that the tenant was being evicted illegally and “forcefully” as they had not received a valid Notice of Termination from their landlord.

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Man arrested during Waterford eviction as gardaí say they had ‘no role’ in event

Tenants’ rights group CATU claimed that the tenant was being evicted illegally and “forcefully” as they had not received a valid Notice of Termination from their landlord.

Today at 09:22

A man was arrested following an eviction in Waterford City over the weekend.

Tenants’ rights group CATU (Community Action Tenants Union Ireland) highlighted the incident on social media, sharing videos and photos of the commotion outside Queen’s Terrace, Barker Street in the city centre on Saturday afternoon.

The group claimed that the tenant was being evicted illegally and “forcefully” as they had not received a valid Notice of Termination from their landlord.

In an email that appears to have been sent by national housing charity Threshold, it’s stated that the tenant received their Notice of Termination via text message, making it invalid. The law states that a valid Notice of Termination must be served in writing – emails o

r digital communication do not suffice.

“Gardaí facilitating the eviction even though tenant has confirmation from RTB and Threshold that this is an illegal eviction and landlord’s men were violent towards tenant.”

Gardaí then arrested one man, aged in his 20s and believed to be a CATU supporter, outside the property. He is currently being detained at Waterford Garda Station.

Sharing a clip of the arrest, which showed the man being carried away by gardaí as protestors chanted, CATU added: “The gardaí have now arrested one of our supporters at the scene who was chanting ‘evictions resist’ for calling out the illegal nature of the eviction.”

Gardaí confirmed that a man was arrested on public order offences but said that An Garda Síochána had “no role” in the eviction in question.

“Gardaí responded to a call regarding an alleged public order incident outside a private residence in the Waterford City area this afternoon, Saturday, 9th of September 2023,” a spokesperson told sundayworld.com.

“One man aged in his 20s was arrested under the Public Order Act and is currently being detained in Waterford Garda Station.”

A representative for Threshold said that the charity cannot comment o

n ongoing cases, while CATU was unavailable for comment.

Meanwhile, Sinn Féin spokesperson on Housing, Eoin Ó Broin TD, described the scenes in Waterford as “distressing” as he called on Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien to implement the recommendations from the RTB on illegal evictions, including the need for trained illegal eviction facilitators at the RTB.

In a statement, Mr Ó Broin said: “Over the weekend social media reports from CATU, the tenants’ rights campaign group, highlighted an illegal eviction in Waterford. The social media posts showed distressing scenes of tenants and their belongings being forcibly removed from a property. Gardaí were present at the eviction.

“Last November, Darragh O’Brien received a detailed report from the Residential Tenancies Board on the issue of illegal evictions. The report had been requested by the Minister on foot of a number of high profile illegal evictions in 2020.

“The report, which had been completed in October 2021 but could not be issued to the Minister for legal reasons, contains five recommendations. A cover letter with the report dated November 2022 sets out four further recommendations made in light of subsequent illegal evictions.

“The recommendations by the RTB are eminently sensible. They include the need for trained illegal eviction facilitators at the RTB; inclusion of illegal eviction as an improper conduct by a landlord; issuing of significant fines for carrying out an illegal eviction; and powers to the gardaí to arrest without a warrant anyone participating in an illegal eviction.

“Darragh O’Brien must speedily implement the Residential Tenancies Board recommendations on illegal evictions. They will produce additional protections for tenants at a time when there is likely to be an increase in illegal evictions.

“The events in Waterford this weekend again highlight the need for strengthening the powers of the RTB and to give the gardaí much needed clarity with respect to their powers when illegal evictions are taking place.”