Sinn Féin TD for Dublin South West Seán Crowe has said that the constant rises in rents are only worsening the cost of living crisis, saying that the Government has failed once again to stop runaway rents and that this was only worsening the already dire cost of living crisis affecting many workers and their families.

The average monthly asking rent in the last three months of 2021 in South County Dublin was €2,258, an increase of 7.9% year on year.

Teachta Crowe said:

“The Daft.ie rental report for the last three months of 2021 shows that the average asking rent in South Dublin is up almost 8%.

“This is yet another steep increase that far outstrips what should be acceptable and is a massive additional cost for workers and families to bear on top of rapid increases in other household bills. Rents like we are seeing right across the state are one of the main reasons why we are going through a cost of living crisis.

“Daft.ie estimate that the average mortgage on a 1 bed apartment in Dublin 24 is €605, but the average rent is €1,321. That is a sign of an utterly broken system. Workers and families that cannot put a deposit together are being punished for it by rents twice what they would pay on a mortgage.

“There is little or zero affordable rental supply in most parts of the State.

“The government’s 2% rent cap is clearly not working. We need a ban on rent increases on all existing and new tenancies and we need government to put money back in renters’ pockets through a refundable tax credit worth a month’s rent.

“Government must also accept that their social and affordable rental targets for 2022 are not delivering, are not ambitious enough, are insufficient and must be tackled to end this month on month spiral of increases.”