Sinn Féin spokesperson on Finance and Donegal TD Pearse Doherty has called on the Government to take emergency action to tackle ‘runaway rents’.
This comes as the latest Daft.ie rent report published this week found that rents in Donegal have increased by 18 percent in the past year.
The average listed rent in Donegal is now €960 (the second cheapest in the state), compared to €1,733 per month nationally, up 2.7% compared to the third quarter of the year and 126% above the low of €765 seen in late 2011.
Teachta Doherty said: “The latest Daft report shows how the Government’s housing failure is taking root in Donegal.
“In the past 12 months rents in the county have increased by 18 percent with the average rent now standing at €960.
“The Minister for Housing must take emergency action to tackle runaway rents.
“That includes a 3-year ban on rent increases and a properly designed tax credit that puts one month’s rent back in renters’ pockets.
“The failure to deliver social and affordable homes has broken the housing market.
“This is now impacting renters in Donegal with the increase in prices draining already stretched incomes.
“This is a wake-up call that the Government’s housing policy is failing the people of Donegal.”
