Kilkenny TD: Daft report confirms that Government has 'no plan and no clue' on housing

Local TD Kathleen Funchion has said that the latest Daft.ie report has only confirmed that which was already known - that rents have spiraled out of control and show no signs of slowing down.

The Sinn Fein TD said that it was clear that the government efforts to date have had no impact and it was time for Minister Eoghan Murphy and the government to take strong, definitive action to address the housing situation which has descended far past crisis point.

Rents have risen 12.4% in a year, with the average rent now standing at €1,304. Average rent costs in Kilkenny City now stand at €910, a 9.4% increase on this time last year. Carlow fares no better with rents now averaging at €873, an increase of 10% on last year.

Both counties have seen massive increases since 2011 - Kilkenny by 47.3% and Carlow by 59.3%.

“The Government’s reliance on the private sector to solve the housing crisis and the Minister’s light touch philosophy has had no impact," says Deputy Funchion.

“The Rent Pressure Zones were unambitious to begin with and demonstrated the reluctance of Fine Gael to interfere with a market that is dysfunctional at best, fundamentally broken at worst. Similarly, the anaemic level of construction of social and affordable housing is simply driving people towards that private sector market, driving up rents for all.

“Rent certainty, the Focus Ireland amendment that would keep families in their homes, an ambitious and necessary investment in social and affordable housing; these are the policy objectives that the government would be better served in pursuing.

"Media appearances telling the people that it’s not as bad as it looks are insulting and an embarrassing indication that the government truly doesn’t know how bad the housing emergency has become. It is clear that this government, backed to the hilt by their partners in Fianna Fáil, is doing more harm than good when it comes to the housing crisis. They have no plan and it seems they haven’t a clue either.”