Call for action as average rents in capital hit €18k a year
With figures showing the average rent in the capital is now €1,454 a month, the Dáil heard calls for more supports for tenants and concerns over how families can’t save for a home if renting.
Sinn Féin deputy leader Mary Lou McDonald said that the average rent in Dublin, according to new figures this week, is “a staggering €17,500 per year”.
“How are working families expected to pay these rents and save for a deposit on their own home at the same time?” asked the Dublin Central TD.
With scores of families every night forced to sleep in emergency accommodation because of spiralling rents, the TD asked would ‘rent certainty’ be part of its housing strategy when published in August.
Responding during Leaders’ Questions, Education Minister Richard Bruton said the housing crisis is the biggest issue for the Government.
He refused to say if rent certainty would form part of the action plan and instead pointed to the two-year rent freeze introduced by the last government.
“Those provisions are in place and will be monitored in terms of policy in this area,” he said.
The Government would look at all suggestions, including the Dáil’s housing committee report which will be published next week.
But the minister said the real problem was supply.
Elsewhere, Fianna Fáil TD Michael Moynihan raised the plight of elderly people waiting up to six months for home help services.
