"A shameful failure of government policy" - Kilkenny MEP speaks out on rising rent prices

Sinn Féin MEP for Ireland South, Kathleen Funchion, has condemned the government's housing policy as a "shameful failure", as the latest Daft.ie report shows market rents in Kilkenny have risen by 10.2% year on year.

The report has revealed that the average listed rent is now €1,675 a month in Kilkenny, a rise of 67% on the level prevailing when the Covid-19 pandemic occurred.

The report also states that 8 of the top 10 counties with double digit inflation are in the Ireland South constituency.

Speaking from Brussels, MEP Funchion said, “The latest Daft.ie report will unfortunately come as no surprise to those who are renting and those who are working in the sector.

“The average rent now being over €1,675 a month in Kilkenny, and €2,000 nationally, shows that Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael's housing policy continues to be a complete failure.

“The report also highlights the difficulties across Ireland South where 8 of the 10 counties recorded at least a 10% rise in rental costs.

“The cost of housing in these counties under current government policy will only continue to increase, and we'll see a situation where fewer people will be able to afford to live and raise families here,” continued MEP Funchion.

“This week, I will be hosting a conference on housing in the European Parliament where we will hear from other countries as to how they have dealt with the issue of affordable housing and homelessness.

“This report further highlights that Irish housing is the most expensive in the EU, and that the current government is either not capable or not serious about finding a solution.

"The only way to protect renters is to dramatically increase and accelerate the delivery of social and affordable homes, and to support the SME builder-developer sector to build more good quality homes for working people to buy.

"In the meantime, rents are too high. Protecting renters means banning rent increases for three years and putting a full month's rent back into every renter's pocket,” concluded MEP Funchion.

Commenting on the report, its author Ronan Lyons, Professor in Economics at Trinity College Dublin, said, “The average open-market rent nationwide exceeds €2,000 a month for the first time, up from below €1,400 a month just five years ago. The sustained increases in rents in the open market are being driven by an acute and worsening shortage of rental housing.

"Unfortunately, changes made to rent controls in 2021 dramatically reduced the ability of Ireland’s rental sector to attract the capital needed for new supply, the ultimate remedy for the shortage.

"The opportunity exists for the government to reform those controls and facilitate the emergence of a new pipeline of rental homes. Nonetheless, further supports will be needed to encourage new rental supply outside of the Greater Dublin Area.”