Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

That is why this Government introduced rent pressure zones, which have proved to be effective in terms of slowing down rental increases for existing rental tenancies. There is clearly an issue in respect of new rental tenancies that are coming in. There is a distinction now in the numbers that the RTB has published between the two, which is useful. There is a need to continue to build on the protections that we have for tenants. However, we also need to be honest about other elements of the data we have seen this week. We are seeing a declining number of landlords. Without landlords, we do not get properties that are available for rent. Ultimately, this is about trying to ensure that as supply increases - we need to continue to accelerate that supply delivery - we protect tenants as best we can but we must also ensure that we do not drive landlords out of the market.

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