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

Why would the Deputy want them to be in rent pressure zones if she did not think rent pressure zones were working? That is the logic of the request. In quarter three we saw a difference between existing tenancies and new tenancies which showed that further work may be required on rent pressure zones. The picture is not necessarily consistent within rent pressure zones. The Deputy is right to point to Limerick. Unfortunately the legislation does not allow for rents that are almost there as it is currently drafted. When one looks at Limerick and the data from quarter three of 2018, we see that in five quarters out of the previous six Limerick city west and Limerick city east recorded an increase of more than 7% but Limerick city north did not, with lower rents there. We saw a similar picture in Waterford in that not all parts of the city recorded increases in four quarters out of the previous six to allow them to be designated under either of the criteria let alone be designated under one of them. We are seeing significant rent pressures in areas like Limerick that are outside of rent pressure zones but the legislation as drafted does not allow for me, the Housing Agency or local authorities to take a different approach.

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