Rent report exposes worsening housing emergency in Mayo - Conway-Walsh

MAYO Sinn Féin TD Rose Conway-Walsh has demanded that the Minister for Housing take emergency action to tackle runaway rents.

The call was made as the Quarter 3 Daft.ie rent report shows new rents surging by 18.5% in Mayo over the last year.

Said Deputy Conway-Walsh: “It is clear that there is a growing housing emergency in Mayo. The latest Daft.ie rent report has set a new record. In the last 12 months new rents have increased by an average of €1,059 a year in Mayo.

“These huge sums are clearly unaffordable for the vast majority of people. The housing crisis is spiralling out of control and must be stopped.”

She continued: “The Minister for Housing, Darragh O’Brien, must take emergency action to tackle runaway rents. It means a properly designed refundable tax credit to put a month's rent back into every private renter's pocket.

“It also means increasing and accelerating the delivery of genuinely affordable cost rental homes.

“Not only are the government's affordable cost rental targets too low, they aren’t even meeting these. The schemes are badly designed and too much bureaucracy imposed on local authorities and approved housing Bodies is preventing the delivery of more homes at a faster pace.

“Shockingly, Minister Darragh O’Brien recently said that there is no housing emergency. Well anyone reading today's Daft.ie rent report would disagree. People affected by this crisis everyday in Mayo would beg to disagree.”

Added Deputy Conway-Walsh: “Minister O’Brien should support Sinn Féin’s motion in the Dáil this evening declaring a housing emergency and then introduce emergency measures to help struggling renters. Renters in Mayo, and people in Mayo with children and other families members renting in other counties, can't be expected to keep waiting, they need to see action to tackle the housing crisis now.”