Serious health and safety concerns have been raised over poor regulation of the private rental sector.

Department of Social Protection officials came under fire when they told a Dáil committee community welfare officers are helping thousands of distressed tenants by providing rent advances and help with deposits.

Sean MacCarthaigh crunches the figures from both the Residential Property Price Register and the Private Residential Tenancies Board Rent Index to provide a composite view of how both markets fared against a background of a housing crisis where affordability has become a key issue for both prospective buyers and tenants.