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THE GERMAN GOVERNMENT is reportedly seeking agreement among European Union member states to begin work on a new EU treaty enshrining budget rules across the continent.
News magazine Der Spiegel reports that Angela Merkel’s cabinet ministers and regional heads of government are seeking agreement to establish a convention which would “work on a new legal foundation for the EU”.
The report says the move is supported by a majority of the members of the so-called “future group” – an informal forum of ten EU foreign ministers which includes Germany’s Guido Westerwelle.
Der Spiegel says the report would see the extension of some of the principles contained in the Fiscal Compact and giving them a firm, unquestionable basis within the EU’s founding treaties.
This would include giving the European Court of Justice the right to monitor the individual budgets of member states, and to punish what Germans occasionally call ‘deficit sinners’ – countries which do not meet the overspending limits set down for them by Brussels.
The report also notes, however, that Ireland would be resistant to the idea – as it would trigger an automatic referendum on approval, even though the Fiscal Compact was approved only three months ago – while Poland also opposes it, believing no consensus is possible.
Another potential obstacle is the proposed timing for the new treaty talks: Germany says it wants an agreement on the date for the convention to be agreed at the European Council summit on December 13 and 14.
This could prove difficult – because that meeting will come just two weeks before Ireland assumes the presidency of the European Council, meaning Enda Kenny’s government would be asked to host a convention it has little interest in.
Germany had already sought to have the Fiscal Compact principles enshrined in a full EU treaty, but the vetoes of the United Kingdom and the Czech Republic meant the deal was limited to the status of an international agreement between 25 of the 27 current member states.
The final text of that deal, however, did include a provision that participating countries would seek to adopt its terms into full EU law, though they gave themselves five years to do so. Germany’s move may therefore be seen as a mere fulfilment of this pledge.
AP said Angela Merkel’s office had not responded to requests for comment this afternoon.
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Surely this is condidential contractual information between a renter and landlord?
…And revenue.ie?
in large areas this info is not so useful, finding an average rent for Dublin 2 two bed apartments is fairly meaningless, no distinction of brand new vs 30 years old, more expensive parts of post code vs less expensive. could be extremely misleading if at too broad a level, possibly worse than no info
I agree 100% unless they post prices with pictures together and also some detailed info of features and square size of living area, then it makes more sense and only then gives you fair idea. Usually the golden rule works in real estate: you get what you pay for..
no more misleading than the constant claims from daft that rents are rising (lies) this survey shows rents are actually falling in Dublin, and is certainly more trustworthy.
It certainly seems that rents are rising. Was away for 6 months and struggled to find apartment. Third less apartments on market now than a year ago.
This is a great step in the right direction . If ur in a block of apartments built at the same time this is very useful!
This information is key as it ensures transparency which prevent bubbles, speculation and the best value for all. It’s also not private information as all income is taxable and some people also receive state supports with their rent. All in all this is a good development.
Zegakly! Openness and transparency is for the good of all.
More snooping by government agencies I would imagine to try to get more money from people rather then trying to apply Amy real rules to the sector
I don’t think this is snooping. I’d say this has more to do with Rent Allowance being paid out by the state. It’ll give the government an idea on rents in a certain area and see if money can be saved.
This is confidential information.
Unless it’s in some way anonymized or averaged over an area it’s a violation of personal financial information.
This is a good thing. The private rented sector is the wild west of the property market. Half the landlords out there are either reluctant buy-to-let types without a clue of even the basics of business or fast buck merchants with a devil-may-care attitude to Residential Tenancies Act. The fact the the majority of cases in front of the PRTB are for illegally held deposits, 92% of flats in a recent investigation failed to meet even minimum legal standards (which are pretty damn low) and the fact that a sizable chunk of landlords out there that seem to think that because the are renting out property the laws of the land do not apply to them means that any move to regulate this sector is welcome.
The sector is unprofessional, legal standards are not enforced, prices vary widely (and are usually down to an individual’s negotiating skills or lack thereof) and the end product is both bad and overpriced. This is a disincentive to living and working in Dublin and needs to be addressed. Possibly the only worthwhile thing Labour have done in government so far.
I support this. It provides for greater transparency all around. Let’s not hope the data gets manipulated…
I know people who because of rent changes have now made agreement with their landlord to say the rent is a certain amount ( allowed for ur family size by the rent section) and then pay extra cash in hand to the landlord , so they don’t have to move yet again as its so hard to find houses within ur allowance and area u want to be in . I think the rent section and the councils should work together and buy property’s and rent them to tenants so in the long run the money goes into housing which the councils and sate own instead of paying landlords forever more ..
Not sure about the accuracy of this… No data for 1 bedroom apartments in Rathmines or Ranelagh (I thought there would be lots of those type of places there) yet the average rent of a 1 bedroom apartment in Wellington Dublin 6W is 1188.89 per month??!!
It seems like this might be a good idea. If they did a survey of asked for rents and paid rents, they could a: get a better idea of how much people are able to pay, and b: give rental property owners a better idea of what rents they should be asking for. I’ve always thought it was odd that rents aren’t based on what people, individually, pay but rather, are based on the average rents paid over large areas.
Have you tried to use the system? Not very easy to use……..
This is a serious breach of privacy. I don’t want people knowing how much rent I pay. It’s none of their business. What if an employer found out someone was paying very little rent and decided to deny a pay increase?
I think this is just another way of exposing people to the Revenue.
have your say