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Housing Minister James Browne is expected to bring his plans to Cabinet in the morning. Rollingnews.ie

Explainer: Why does the Government want to overhaul Rent Pressure Zones?

A change to how Ireland’s rental system is regulated has been bubbling for some months now.

AFTER MONTHS OF a slow drip of information from the Government, tonight is the night that a decision is expected to be made on how Ireland’s rental system will be overhauled.

Back in February, Taoiseach Micheál Martin warned the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party to brace themselves for “unpopular decisions” on housing.

At the time, he signalled that the Government would be examining rent pressure zones (RPZs), but after a flurry of criticism from homeless charities and opposition TDs, he was quick to clarify that no decision had yet been made on whether to retain or scrap the rent caps.

Four months later, it is now crunch time for one of those “unpopular decisions”, with the Housing Minister James Browne set to meet with Government leaders tonight.

At this meeting, they will decide on changes in how rent prices are regulated in Ireland.

Although nothing is set in stone yet, we do have a good idea of the changes the Housing Minister wants to introduce.

But why does the Government want to move away from the current system? Have RPZs not worked and limited rent inflation?

What are RPZs?

RPZs were introduced in Cork and Dublin in 2016 in a bid to protect renters from the rising cost of accommodation.

At the time they were seen as a temporary measure and were put in place for a period of three years, but have since been extended to other parts of the country where rents are highest and rising, and where households have the greatest difficulty finding affordable accommodation.

Rents in an RPZ cannot be increased by more than the rate of inflation or by more than 2% per year, whichever is lower. Up until 2021, the cap was higher at 4%.

RPZs apply to both new and existing tenancies unless an exemption is in place.

They were to remain in place until 31 December 2024 but last May, the Government agreed to extend them until 31 December 2025.

At the end of last year, 83% of private rental sector tenancies in the State were located in RPZs.

What is the Government’s argument for overhauling them?

Taoiseach Micheál Martin has pointed to the recommendations in last year’s Housing Commission report, a landmark report on housing in Ireland, when asked about the plans to scrap the rent caps.

At the time, the Commission said that a “radical” reset of housing policy was needed, and among its recommendations was for the rental sector to be reformed for both tenants and landlords.

It recommended that RPZs should be reviewed as they might lead to “potential inequalities, inefficiencies or other outcomes that are contrary to policy objectives”.

It said that market rents should be regulated “fairly and effectively by reforming the current system of rent regulation and establishing a system of ‘Reference Rents’.

On top of this, the Taoiseach has argued that the RPZ system needs to be examined because there is not enough private investment in Ireland’s rental sector at the moment.

But have RPZs been effective?

The verdict on this is mixed.

In its report last year, the Housing Commission stated that landlords have been “constrained” by RPZs and noted that they have “reported a lack of policy certainty and diminished net rental returns as reasons for leaving the rental market”.

The report stated that the regulatory framework has become “more and more complicated for landlords” and referenced research that suggested that the regulatory requirements are not being complied with in full.

It also noted that renters are experiencing affordability challenges due to historically high rents, with a shortage of rental supply on top of this.

The Commission also pointed to a report from the IMF on Ireland, which drew negative conclusions about the impact of RPZs.

That report argued that RPZs have contributed to a ‘two-tier’ rental market, whereby existing tenants enjoy lower rents, while those seeking a new tenancy are faced with significantly higher rents.

It also linked this regulatory framework to a lower supply of rented accommodation.

Overall though, the Commission was of the view that rent regulation is an integral part of a well-functioning rental market, as both tenants and landlords need certainty.

It argued that a balance had to be struck between the affordability needs of tenants and the profitability needs of landlords to enable the sector to operate properly.

Similarly, the ESRI is of the view that RPZs have been effective at limiting rent increases, but that reform of the system is needed in order to encourage construction projects.

Research released by the think-tank in March found that on average, rents in Dublin increased by 1.3-1.5% in 2024 for ongoing tenants and 2.8% for new tenants.

For areas outside of RPZs, the increases were larger, reaching as high as 6.2% for ongoing tenants and 14% in tenancy changes.

Like the Housing Commission, the ESRI also proposed setting up a “reference rent” system which would peg rent increases “to a reference rent for local dwellings of similar quality”.

What has been the Opposition reaction to plans to change RPZs?

Firmly negative.

These proposed changes are coming at a time when the Government is under pressure from left-leaning parties, trade unions and homelessness charities to create policies that favour renters over landlords.

Sinn Féin’s housing spokesperson, TD Eoin Ó Broin is of the view that renters are being punished for the Government’s failures on housing.

In recent months, he has argued that scrapping rent pressure zones will lead to more homelessness.

Likewise, Social Democrats TD Rory Hearne, an academic who has written a book on the housing crisis, has said his party will “strenuously resist” any attempt by the Government to end RPZs.

Hearne has argued that the Government is prioritising the profits of international investors and developers over the needs of ordinary renters.

The Labour Party’s housing spokesperson Conor Sheehan has described RPZs as being “very ham-fisted” but said that, regardless, they are the “only bit of protection renters have in the private rented market at the moment”. 

Next week, the Raise the Roof campaign group will hold a demonstration outside Leinster House that is likely to heap further criticism on the government.

The protest is seen as a reboot of the campaign and will coincide with a cross-party private members’ bill calling for emergency action on the housing crisis.

People Before Profit TD Paul Murphy said the Government’s new plan could amount to it “unleashing the landlords on renters”.

Ethel Buckley, deputy general secretary of SIPTU, said she also fears the move will include “greater sweeteners for investors”.

Mike Allen, director of advocacy at Focus Ireland, said while there has been an increase in the amount of affordable housing built, it has not curbed homelessness and a dedicated homelessness plan is needed.

Allen says homelessness organisations don’t see protesting as an act of opposition to the Government, but rather as part of a democratic process where issues are raised.

So what exactly is the Government proposing?

As of right now, we don’t know for sure what will be in tomorrow’s announcement, given that late-night negotiating between government leaders may still happen.

What we do know is that the Housing Minister is planning to introduce a change that would allow landlords to reset rent between tenancies.

Existing renters would likely remain protected by the current 2% cap but according to a Government source, the plans being brought to Cabinet by James Browne this week will mean the that 2% rent cap will not apply to apartments built after a certain date.

It is also understood that tenancy protections will be brought in, which will see a six-year security of tenure for renters.

More detail is expected tomorrow after the plans are discussed by Cabinet.

With reporting from Mairead Maguire.

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    Mute Rian Smallbone
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    Jun 9th 2025, 1:37 PM

    So their Vulture Fund and Corporate Landlord buddies can increase their obscene profits.

    228
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    Mute Rian Smallbone
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    Jun 9th 2025, 1:39 PM

    @Rian Smallbone: In Jan the first thing the FFG/Lowry Group Gov did was create new Junior Housing Ministers., what have they been at for last 6 months?

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    Mute Rian Smallbone
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    Jun 9th 2025, 1:40 PM

    @Rian Smallbone: Was it them that came up with the idea of a Housing‘Tzar’ ?

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    Mute Tony
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    Jun 9th 2025, 1:59 PM

    It’s obvious, most of them are landlords and they have prioritised investment funds over citizens.

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    Mute thomas molloy
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    Jun 9th 2025, 4:06 PM

    @Tony: A landlord borrows money to house strangers. What are YOU doing to house strangers. ?

    17
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    Mute Mary BINTon
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    Jun 9th 2025, 4:17 PM

    @thomas molloy: Landlords are in effect businesses and the sole objective is to extract as much money as possible from punters. Nice try doe.

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    Mute William Tallon
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    Jun 9th 2025, 1:41 PM

    “Follow the money…”

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    Mute thomas molloy
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    Jun 9th 2025, 4:03 PM

    @William Tallon: When property to let is financed it is widely don with the loan repayments being covered by the rent. When interest rates increase the letting starts to loose money. In our case we had financed the housing with borrowing at 3% and then rates went up to 5.5% which is nearly a 45% increase in servicing the loan while an increase of only 2% in rent was allowed. We sold up almost all of our lettings and returned the money to the bank. Go follow that money. Never again.

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    Mute Dereck
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    Jun 9th 2025, 6:36 PM

    @thomas molloy: And this is precisely why the parties of landlords i.e. FFG want to abolished RPZs while at the same time keeping the number of rental properties down. To create a risk free, profit guaranteed investment opportunity for themselves and their friends. Landlords are in it for the profit, that’s fair enough, but when you invest money you’ll always take a risk of losing it. To eliminate that risk FFG rather manipulate the rental market than ensure that enough affordable supply is available.

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    Mute Bennett blaster
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    Jun 9th 2025, 11:44 PM

    @thomas molloy: Investments can go up as well as down.

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    Mute James Carolan
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    Jun 9th 2025, 2:34 PM

    Here is my opinion…I believe landlords are just fueled by greed and what I mean by that is that they were quite happy to receive e.g. €1000 for their property per month a few years ago and now they want €2500 pm for the same property that still has the same mortgage on it (if any). To me that’s just pure greed in a housing crisis while this FFG government still fail to attempt to resolve this problem.

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    Mute George Bowling
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    Jun 9th 2025, 4:48 PM

    @James Carolan: if you were happy to sell a car for 1,000 but someone offered you 2,500 for it how much would you sell your car for?

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    Mute DAN TEDSON
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    Jun 9th 2025, 5:51 PM

    @James Carolan: here’s an insight for you Jimbo, ALL businesses are ‘fueled by greed’. Tesco aren’t REALLY trying to help ‘every little bit’. But if we made the supermarket sector uncompetitive by constant government interference then there would be fewer of them and consequently higher prices for everyone.

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    Mute Concerned Driver
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    Jun 9th 2025, 1:57 PM

    Regarding our household the RPZ was very important and I would go as far as saying it was a lifeline. Without RPZ, the rent would currently be 29.57% more expensive.
    In real terms, that means that without RPZ in place we would need to either:
    - move out as the rent increase would unsustainable which in consequence would have negative impact on our lives
    - stay in the same place but share with 2 more people instead of 1 or like it was at the beginning of RPZ we still rented on our own
    - we wouldn’t be able to save up and buy a small property that we managed to do in early 2024 after years of sticking to our saving plan.
    So the RPZ was essential for us to stay in place. The landlord didn’t loose out as we were good tenants renting for more than 15 years.

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    Mute John Purcell
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    Jun 9th 2025, 4:43 PM

    @Concerned Driver: I think when u step back and look at it, the RPV were amazing for u, but bad for the landlord (if he was on a variable mortgage / tracker mortgage he would have seen his mortgage repayments increase dramatically in the last 5 years. He would also be way below the market rents available on the open market.) the rpv has also been terrible for future renters, the RPV has meant that people will not move to a new apt/house as they are getting such a great deal on their rent. The RPV introduction has seen a reduction in apt building which is reducing supply and pushing new rents to an all time high.

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    Mute DAN TEDSON
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    Jun 9th 2025, 6:01 PM

    @Concerned Driver: the Rpz forced your landlord to raise the rent every single year. I went many years without increasing my rent in order to keep good tenants who over time became friends. Then I was behind market rate and had to start ratcheting up by the 4% as otherwise you would never be allowed to catch up with market rate should the tenants leave. That could also potentially have affected the property value. When they did leave I sold up, sick of the constant games with the government and media presupposing every landlord is some bollix or other.

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    Mute RIP
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    Jun 9th 2025, 2:19 PM

    As an Explainer and a public service, why not name the profiteers out of this Crisis that has no sign of ending

    53
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    Mute qW0cB1Fo
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    Jun 9th 2025, 3:39 PM

    @RIP: The Journal is a govt mouthpiece. That is why.

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    Mute Alan
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    Jun 9th 2025, 3:54 PM

    @qW0cB1Fo: if it is a govt mouthpiece why is it allowing you to comment and why is it explaining the situation rather than simply taking the govts side?

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    Mute Mary BINTon
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    Jun 9th 2025, 4:03 PM

    @qW0cB1Fo: Looks like you are unaware of the meltdown your having, good for your health to untie the emotional cord attached to your numerous profiles.

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    Mute qW0cB1Fo
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    Jun 9th 2025, 5:13 PM

    @Mary BINTon: I have one profile. Also, you should learn the difference between your and you’re. You cr3t1n.

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    Mute qW0cB1Fo
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    Jun 9th 2025, 6:41 PM

    @Mary BINTon: Also… it’s obvious that you keep creating new profiles and trying to be funny with your user names. Get a life, weirdo.

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    Mute Mary BINTon
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    Jun 9th 2025, 6:46 PM

    @qW0cB1Fo: Thanks for proving my point. Triggered because of your emotional attachment to your profiles, take a brake four you’re self their sun.

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    Mute Rob Hunt
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    Jun 9th 2025, 2:02 PM

    “In its report last year, the Housing Commission stated that landlords have been “constrained” by RPZs and noted that they have “reported a lack of policy certainty and diminished net rental returns as reasons for leaving the rental market”.”

    Pssst – rent caps aren’t there for the benefit of the landlord.

    RPZs aren’t a perfect solution but until we have a big overhaul of housing and the rental system it’s madness to remove them. Knowing that our rent increases were capped made it much easier for us as renters to determine what we could afford. Before that came into effect it was the wild west, our first apartment went from €900/mo in 2013 to €1225 the following year.

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    Mute The next small thing
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    Jun 9th 2025, 2:29 PM

    @Rob Hunt: Obviously RPZ’s aren’t for the benefit of landlords however, if they stay as is then there will be no one willing to invest in building new properties so current tenants will be ok but homelessness will increase massively. With our population increasing we need an increase in supply, if we can’t increase supply then we need to reduce demand, can’t have it both ways.

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    Mute Rian Smallbone
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    Jun 9th 2025, 2:31 PM

    @The next small thing: when people try to conflate that fact and say that RPZ’s are causing the Housing Crisis, they seem to forget that even if true, it’s very low on a very long list of things causing the Housing Crisis, with the Govs preferential treatment of Vulture Funds, Corporate Landlords and Property Speculators at the very top of that list.

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    Mute Concerned Driver
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    Jun 9th 2025, 2:32 PM

    @Rob Hunt: exactly the same here. One year, it was 2011 or 2012 the rent went up by €400. We negotiated 10% instead. But it was Wild West as you said.

    The article only mentions the impact of RPZs on landlord. No one asked the tenants the same question.

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    Mute DAN TEDSON
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    Jun 9th 2025, 5:56 PM

    @Rob Hunt: before I sold up as a ‘landlord’ with a one bed apartment, it gave me such a pain in the hole to HAVE TO raise my rent by the RPZ amount every year. I had let my apt out at half the market rate. But the RPZ rules meant I had to raise by the max amount every year or fall behind the market rate forever, since you cannot raise between tenancies. I found ways around it by giving my tenants a ‘Christmas bonus’ of not having to pay rent in dec for example. But the RPZ essentially forces landlords like me to raise rents when we dont want to. As a policy it did the opposite of what was intended.

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    Mute Rian Smallbone
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    Jun 9th 2025, 2:13 PM

    RPZ’s were brought in to protect Renters from unscrupulous Landlords..
    They were not brought in to build houses.,,
    And when people try to conflate that fact and say that RPZ’s are causing the Housing Crisis, they seem to forget that even if true, it’s very low on a very long list of things causing the Housing Crisis, with the Govs preferential treatment of Vulture Funds, Corporate Landlords and Property Speculators at the very top of that list.

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    Mute Fergus O'Donnell
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    Jun 9th 2025, 2:49 PM

    A load of lip service. They love the housing crisis as it widens the gap between the rich and poor and that has always been FFGs goal.
    Shysters.

    35
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    Mute Cormac McKay
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    Jun 9th 2025, 3:36 PM

    If you go to the Dublin Docklands you’ll see many ready to go apartments that have been deliberately held back and left vacant until this new policy is in place.

    25
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    Mute Greagoir O Duinn
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    Jun 9th 2025, 3:54 PM

    If ffg want to ditch RPZs it can only mean one thing. More money for vulture fund landlords

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    Mute Brian D'Arcy
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    Jun 9th 2025, 2:50 PM

    Why? For landlords

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    Mute damien leen
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    Jun 9th 2025, 3:30 PM

    What happened to extending the current housing schemes to pre-owned houses…more lies.
    Instead of helping people they are now making things worse…
    They are directly responsible for this housing crisis and are making thing worse!

    26
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    Mute Niall Smith
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    Jun 9th 2025, 3:19 PM

    Explanation they’re landlords.

    23
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    Mute Ailbhe MacThomais
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    Jun 9th 2025, 4:00 PM

    All to make sure their own families, friends and cronyism Continues to profits

    22
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    Mute Aidan Collins
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    Jun 9th 2025, 3:57 PM

    Watch as landlords throw out existing tenants in order to relet at higher prices.

    20
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    Mute Jimbo
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    Jun 9th 2025, 4:01 PM

    Rents should be frozen across the board for the foreseeable future it’s extortionate the money landlords are getting no wonder nobody has a chance of getting on the property ladder

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    Mute DAN TEDSON
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    Jun 9th 2025, 5:48 PM

    @Jimbo: just get rid of all landlords eh Jimbo? Somehow this will ensure a plentiful supply of rental properties.

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    Mute Mary BINTon
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    Jun 9th 2025, 7:02 PM

    @DAN TEDSON: He didn’t say that, you’re twisting his words to suit your narrative.

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    Mute Jimbo
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    Jun 9th 2025, 7:12 PM

    @DAN TEDSON: no that’s not what I said rents should be frozen for the foreseeable future nobody can afford to rent with the cost of living let alone own their own property someday it’s downright extortion from landlords

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    Mute Furious George - The Wasp
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    Jun 9th 2025, 3:22 PM

    Treason season starting early this year. Government are a disgrace

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    Mute Dave Grant
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    Jun 9th 2025, 4:44 PM

    Irish Media are literally a mouth piece for the government.

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    Mute Padraig O'Brien
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    Jun 9th 2025, 5:36 PM

    What a waste of time and effort. Here’s the simple answer.
    So that their friends can make more money!

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    Mute Ronan Mc
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    Jun 9th 2025, 2:03 PM

    We could end up like New York or other cities with rent controls of old. Fixed rents but serious under the table payments to get and keep properties that are rent controlled due to the lack of supply.

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    Mute DAN TEDSON
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    Jun 9th 2025, 5:45 PM

    All these market interventions have been tried again and again and have not worked. Disincentivising people from buying investment properties decreases rental supply. Time to do the opposite: leave the market alone to sort itself out. Or even incentivise people to get into investment property again in order to increase supply of rental properties. Imagine that. We also need to vastly increase the supply of skilled labour and reduce planning costs and uncertainty.

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    Mute William Kelly
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    Jun 9th 2025, 5:22 PM

    Because the developers wont build apartments while its there.
    The readon we have a mixed State/ Capitalist economy is to enable the state to provide population needs that the for profit investors wont provide.
    So instead of doing just that, this government yields to mainly offshored interests to extract ever increasing rents. Absentee Landlordism 21st century style.

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    Mute Paddy C
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    Jun 9th 2025, 10:52 PM

    I know of 3 young people almost qualified from they’re roles which took years to achieve and have all said they’re emigrating for a future. No hope of them affording they’re own homes but yet thousands enter the country and get them I can’t understand this backward country anymore it certainly doesn’t pay to work and pay tax for years to be bled dry and forced abroad passing people entering the country getting full benefits.

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