Sinn Féin TD for Wicklow, John Brady, has directly challenged Taoiseach Micheál Martin to intervene urgently to stop rent hikes facing Wicklow County Council tenants from 7 November.
Speaking in the Dáil on Wednesday, Deputy Brady highlighted the devastating impact the increases will have on tenants across the county and called on the Taoiseach, the Minister and the Government to take immediate action to protect households from unaffordable rent increases.
Speaking after his contribution in the Dáil, Teachta Brady said:
“Today, I directly challenged the Taoiseach and urged him to intervene to stop these grotesque rent hikes being imposed on council tenants in Wicklow.
“From 7 November, 87 per cent of Wicklow County Council tenants are facing rent increases.
“I have seen cases where rents are set to rise by 100 per cent, 200 per cent and, in some cases, as much as 300 per cent.
“These are tenants who are often living in overcrowded, damp and mould-affected accommodation, yet they are now being asked to pay significantly more for homes that are simply not fit for purpose.
“This is completely unacceptable.
“At any time, these increases would be fundamentally unfair, but in the midst of a cost-of-living crisis, when households are already struggling to make ends meet, they are simply beyond what many families can afford.
“Tenants are being forced into an impossible position.
“Do they put food on the table, care for sick family members, keep up with their utility bills or pay substantially higher rent?
“No family should be forced to make those kinds of choices just to keep a roof over their heads.
“I challenged the Taoiseach directly to intervene, but, as expected, he sought to shift responsibility onto the local authority rather than accept the need for Government action.
“The reality is that the Government’s failure to enact the legislation to introduce a harmonised differential rent scheme that has long been discussed, has left individual local authorities to go their own way, with devastating consequences for tenants.
“The impact of that failure is now being felt by thousands of ordinary people and families across Wicklow.
“The Taoiseach acknowledged that rent schemes must be fair.
“This scheme is clearly not fair, and the Government cannot simply stand aside while tenants face increases of this scale.
“I am calling on the Taoiseach, the Minister and the Government to intervene immediately and stop these grotesque rent hikes.
“Council tenants should not be left to carry the can for the Government’s failure to deliver a fair and consistent approach to differential rents.
“The Government must act now to protect Wicklow’s council tenants and prevent more households from being pushed into hardship.”
ENDS