Rent caps ‘part of a carefully thought-out process’

Taoiseach Enda Kenny has defended Government plans to cap rents in Cork and Dublin for the next three years, insisting that the move is a “carefully thought-out process” which will protect “many thousands of tenants”.

He rejected claims a deal struck with Fianna Fáil to potentially extend the plan to other cities early next year is a “watering down” of the original move.

Under plans debated by the Dáil, rent “pressure zones” are to be introduced in Ireland’s two largest cities from next month, capping price rises for existing renters to a maximum of 4% a year for the next three years.