‘Rent certainty’ dispute drags on within Fine Gael

The Coalition ‘rent certainty’ row shows no signs of calming after Fine Gael figures said Taoiseach Enda Kenny is not planning a meeting with Environment Minister Alan Kelly to negotiate a truce and dismissed any cap on prices out of hand.

Despite weekend reports suggesting Labour’s deputy leader may water down his plan to link rent prices to the consumer price index from four years to two to win over the coalition partner, Fine Gael is thought to still hold that the potential policy should not play any part in addressing the market crisis.

In measures repeatedly outlined for more than a year, Mr Kelly wants to impose a system whereby landlords cannot ramp up rents by linking any increases to the consumer price index.