Labour will consider a motion on entering a Government coalition at its conference this weekend as well as allowing a future leader to come from the Upper House.

Housing support groups have claimed the rental sector is now “out of control” after latest figures showed record levels of homelessness ahead of Christmas, including 3,333 children.

A report from the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) shows the average rent being paid across the country is now €1056, up from €965 a year earlier.

The number of calls to housing charity Threshold doubled last year and almost half its clients were families with children.

Our shameful housing crisis has been in the headlines for so long now that it would not be surprising if a contemporary version of donor fatigue kicks in. 

Housing charity Threshold is advising tenants that some landlords in Cork are using the excuse of ‘substantial renovations’ to initiate evictions from rental properties in the city.

The Government is to cap rental deposits at one month’s rent and has vowed to crack down on landlords in rent pressure zones who take advantage of tenants.

The Government is to cap rental deposits at one month’s rent and has vowed to crack down on landlords in rent pressure zones who take advantage of tenants.

Housing charity Threshold has said a mandatory rents register must be established to root out rogue landlords who flout rental cap regulations.

Update - 10.07am: Housing charity Threshold has called on the housing minister to start the deposit protection scheme.

Housing charity Threshold had a 54% increase in calls about tenancy issues last year and warns that the problem has only worsened in 2016. 

Housing charity Threshold has called for a plan for the private rental sector to prevent families from becoming homeless.

With private rents now 10% higher across the country compared to a year ago, more measures are needed in addition to full rent certainty to stop people losing their homes, the Simon Communities has urged.

Labour have yet to decide if they will abstain or support a Fine Gael minority government, as internal debate continues in the party on whether Joan Burton should remain on as leader.

A former president of NUI Galway has been accused of “inappropriately” supporting Aer Arann boss Pádraig Ó Céidigh in the Seanad elections by a leading member of the college’s governing authority.

Latest: Sinn Féin councillor Paul Donnelly has tonight hosted a meeting with the residents of Cruise Park in Tyrrelstown.

Three Labour Party ministers of state who failed to win back their seats in the general election are now hoping to re-enter politics through the Seanad.

Housing and homeless charities have cautiously welcomed new measures to ease the rental crisis but called on the Government to go further and link rents to the consumer price index.

Housing charity Threshold has warned TDs and senators that over 1,000 families face being homeless by Christmas unless the Government introduces rent certainty to ease the housing crisis.

The Government has again failed to address the spiralling homelessness crisis, according to a number of organisations — amid warnings of more people on the streets by Christmas.

Environment Minister Alan Kelly’s long-awaited rent ‘certainty’ measures designed to tackle spiralling prices will go before cabinet in the coming weeks.

A generation of Irish people face the prospect of not owning their own property for at least another decade, a major conference on housing has been told.

AIB has confirmed that over 5,700 owner-occupied homes in mortgage arrears face being taken over by the bank amid suggestions that a “tsunami” of repossessions are on the way.

Housing charity Threshold has said the Government needs to urgently introduce a national strategy on private rented housing so as to keep more families from becoming homeless.

Almost half of rent supplement clients are paying ‘top up’ money to landlords to retain their tenancy, according to a survey by housing rights group Threshold.

Almost half of Rent Supplement clients are paying 'top up' money to landlords to retain their tenancy, according to a new survey by housing rights group Threshold.

The Government has confirmed the names of the seven TDs who will conduct the Oireachtas banking inquiry.

Money paid as a deposit on rented accommodation will be held by a third party under new rules to protect tenants from unscrupulous landlords.

Housing charity Threshold says increasing numbers of desperate tenants are being forced to accept sub-standard accommodation because of growing demand and prices in the rental market.

An embarrassing defeat for the Government in the Seanad has been blamed on a “misunderstanding” after four Labour senators failed to turn up for a vote on proposed changes to upward only rents.

The Government suffered its first embarrassing defeat in the Seanad last night as Labour senators failed to turn up for a vote on proposed changes to upward-only rents.

A Fianna Fáil senator has been accused of reaching a new low after he said allowing abortions in cases of fatal foetal abnormalities would be “depriving future Special Olympics athletes of being born”.

Limits on rent supplement payments set by the Government are forcing thousands of families to make undeclared top-up payments to landlords to secure places to live.

Helping people out of homelessness and into permanent accommodation not only ends a cycle of misery but results in a huge cost saving.

Housing charity Threshold yesterday welcomed a new rent index published by the Private Residential Tenancies Board but warned that some landlords not registered with the board could be “masking” rent increases elsewhere.

GlaxoSmith Kline, a major manufacturer of anti-diabetes drugs, has decided to sell its Lucozade and Ribena brands — a move that coincides with the release of a major study that shows drinking one can of fizzy drinks a day increases the likelihood of contracting diabetes by 20%.

Landlords illegally retaining deposits are pushing some vulnerable families towards homelessness, according to the latest annual report from Threshold.

A new book outlining the pitfalls of renting has been launched for college students on the hunt for accommodation.

A call from the head of the Central Bank for banks to repossess more buy-to-let properties would cause “chaos” in the market, according to a national housing charity.

Households are still saddled with an average credit card debt of €1,330, amid claims that pressure to repay mortgages has meant higher interest rate debts are going unpaid.

Minister for the Environment Phil Hogan has said landlords are responsible for payment of the €100 household charge for any properties they own.