Rents in Cork County continue to spiral out of control as government fails renters – Pat Buckley TD

Sinn Féin TD for Cork East, Pat Buckley has called for emergency action to reduce rents in the private rental sector as the latest Daft.ie rent report shows rents increasing by almost 8.8% in County Cork in the last 12 months.

He urged the government to ban rent increases for all existing and new tenancies for three years, and to put a full month’s rent pack into every private renter’s pocket.

Deputy Buckley said: “The latest Daft.ie rent report shows average new rents in County Cork increasing by almost 8.8% in the last 12 months. New rents now stand at a staggering €1,410.

“This is totally unaffordable for people on ordinary salaries in Cork. People need a break from sky high rents now. It’s clear that Government has totally lost control of the housing market. Government has failed to deliver a sufficient volume of social and affordable homes. Their controversial policies such as Help to Buy and the Shared Equity Loan have pushed up house prices. 

“Meanwhile, ordinary people in Cork are left paying the price for Government’s failures. People in Cork are trapped paying out of control rents, or living in cramped accommodation while they watch their dream of home ownership continue to slip even further out of reach. 

“Government urgently needs to adopt a different approach. They need to understand that unless we see the delivery of 20,000 public homes a year to meet social and affordable rental and purchase need, then this crisis will continue.

“Fine Gael has been in Government for 12 years. During that time rents in the state have increased by 155%. Fianna Fáil have been propping Fine Gael up for seven years. Since Fianna Fáil have had the housing ministry, rents have increased by 30%. 

“This government has failed renters in [county] and across the state. They are out of touch and out of time. Only a Sinn Féin-led government will stand up for renters and deliver the genuinely affordable homes that they need and deserve. Our housing plan would deliver genuinely affordable homes for people in Cork.”