‘Conflict of interest’ as one in five TDs are landlords

Ireland’s spiralling rental crisis is failing to be addressed because one in every five TDs are landlords and have a clear conflict of interest on the issue, campaigners have warned.

Fr Peter McVerry and David Hall made the claim after a new report found a minimum of 30 of the Dáil’s 158 TDs are receiving private rental income from properties they own — including a quarter of the current Cabinet.

According to the 2017 Dáil declarations of interest report, which is published every 12 months by the Oireachtas and includes a full breakdown of TDs’ assets, politicians across almost all parties have properties they are renting to the public.