Threshold receiving up to 50 phone calls a day

Up to 50 phone calls a day are being received by Threshold from residents concerned over rent increases.

It comes less than a week after the government announced a range of measures to stop soaring rents, including freezing it for two years and a requirement for longer notice of any plans to hike rent.

Threshold was one of many NGO’s at a summit on the homeless crisis hosted this evening by the Environment Minister, Alan Kelly.

The Minister says although only 20 social houses have been built in the first six months of this year, that figure is expected to rise significantly.

"Well that figure by the end of the year will be substantially higher, and I can assure you it will be substantially higher, up to ten times higher.

"The issue here is this; the volume of sites is in excess of 200, we'll be announcing a lot more sites in the coming weeks."