Waterford renters paying the price for Government housing failures

Renters in Waterford are paying the price for failures on the part of Fianna Fáíl and Fine Gael towards the housing sector.

That is the view of Waterford Sinn Féin TD, Deputy David Cullinane, in the wake of the latest Daft.ie report which showed rents in the Déise county had risen by 10 per cent.

According to the report, the average rent in the city now is €1,651 per month while renting in the county averages at €1646 per month.

Commenting on the day the figures were released, Deputy Cullinane said they weren’t surprising.

“Today's Daft.ie report will come as no surprise to renters,” he said.

“Year on year, we are seeing significant increases in both new rents and existing rents,” he added.

“The report shows that rents in Waterford have risen by 10 per cent in the last year, with the average rent now €1,646 per month in the county and €1,651 in the city.” 

Deputy Cullinane said “the failure of successive Governments” to deliver a sufficient supply of social and affordable homes and private homes to purchase, had forced too many people into a private rental sector that does not meet their needs.

“Not only have Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael missed their social and affordable housing targets every year but Simon Harris is now warning that house prices will continue to rise for the next number of years,” he said.

“The result of this failure is that renters are paying the highest rents in the history of the state,” said Deputy Cullinane, who commented that renting has never been more expensive and insecure.

“Instead of fixing the problem of public and private for purchase supply, Government is considering whether to allow landlords to hack up rents even further to attract institutional investment,” he said.

“Any move in this direction would be a disaster for renters. Renters are already paying for the housing failures of Government. They simply cannot pay any more.”