Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Yesterday the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, Deputy Eoghan Murphy, in response to the publication of the latest quarterly report from daft.iesaid that rents are rising at a slow rate. Meanwhile in the real world, average rents are in excess of €1,300 across the State, an increase of 8% on the same time last year, and average rents stand in Dublin at over €2,000, a situation that is scandalous.

Ten counties in the latest Daft report showed double-digit rent increases, including Waterford, a rise of 16%, and Galway, an incredible rise of almost 17%. All counties bar Dublin saw rent inflation of at least double the rent pressure zone cap, while Dublin rents rose by 7%. The Minister is at best being disingenuous but in reality is being deliberately misleading.

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