Eoghan Murphy (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The daft.ie report makes for interesting reading but it tells us something we already know, in that rents are increasing. It discusses rents sought rather than agreed rents, which is what the RTB collects. It also looks at a much smaller data sample than the RTB report, which gives us the quarterly rent index. The last RTB report from the final quarter of last year told us two important things, namely, that the increase in rent was slowing down dramatically, with a 1.1% increase in the fourth quarter, and that the rent pressure zones in Dublin, which have been in place for 12 months, are working. There was an almost 3% decrease in rents being asked for over the course of 2017 when measured against 2016. Having said that, we recognise that new powers are required for the RTB. It needs to become a more independent regulator to enforce the market robustly on behalf of landlords and tenants. That legislation is being prepared at the moment by the Office of the Attorney General, in conjunction with my Department, and we hope to publish it at the beginning of June.

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