Dublin rents are a rip-off and are still rising

On December 2013 An Taoiseach, Enda Kenny, made his public announcement that we as a nation were now out of debt, but still had a long way to go due to three years of scrimping budget cuts and much tightening of belts.

The result of this was that the landlords of Dublin City and County took this as a sign to mean charge whatever you want for your downtrodden or otherwise rented properties. In Cork, Limerick, Galway and most other areas of the country rents have remained much the same, or are at least lower, than in Dublin.

Rents in Dublin, particularly on the northside, for properties better suited to sheltering cattle than housing persons, rose by 100%. Yes, these are studio apartments but even if you make a comparison on houses for rent throughout Ireland we see a huge difference.

Starting with Co Donegal (based on results on Daft.ie), for €368 per month you can get a three-bedroom house, fully furnished. In Co Limerick, a four-bedroom house, also fully furnished for €500 per month.

In Co Cork, a three-bedroom house for €450. In Co Waterford, a two-bedroom house for €475 per month. In Co Kerry, a three-bedroom house for €500 per month.

In Dublin, the average is a whopping €800-1,200 per month. So I ask, why hasn’t anything been done about these studio apartments that are an absolute abomination, and why is it only in Dublin that rents for houses are so high?

Especially when the average person earns approximately €350 per week and in Dublin that leaves that person with €50 a week to eat and relax.

Yes, we’re still in recession. Yes we still have a long way to go. So why do landlords in Dublin not see this, when practically every other county seems to and especially when it is in Dublin that all the agencies, ombudsman liaisons, and other bodies exist to regulate such things? I have no answers to any of these questions, so perhaps you and your readers could fill me in on the joke.

Declan Gallagher

Balbriggan

Co Dublin