Average new yearly rents in Galway increased by over 13 per cent in the last year alone – and by more than €750 per annum over the lifetime of the current Government.

That’s according to Galway West Deputy Mairéad Farrell, who described the figures – gleaned from the latest Daft.ie rental report – as ‘a damning indictment of Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil and the Green Party’s abject failure to address the housing crisis’.

“Across Galway, Cork, Limerick and Waterford cities combined, there were just 150 homes available to rent at the start of this month,” she said.

“This report, when compared to figures when this government came into office four years ago, shows that average new yearly rents in Galway have increased by €751 over the lifetime of the government, and have increased by 13.3% in the last year alone. That is unforgivable.

“This didn’t have to happen. Sinn Féin has long argued for a ban on rent increases for three years and to take the pressure off renters by putting one month’s rent back into every private renter’s pocket,” she added.

Deputy Farrell said that the latest Daft.ie report comes on the back of ‘four damning housing reports in the past fortnight alone’.

“Last week, the Parliamentary Budget Office found that over 115,000 households had an ongoing housing need last year, with a growing number of older people languishing on social housing waiting lists or relying on Housing Assistance Payments (HAP) to keep a roof over their head,” she said.

“The week previous, three independent reports were released by the Society of Chartered Surveyors of Ireland, the Central Statistics Office and Savills highlighting sky-high house prices, chronic undersupply and the growing affordability challenge for working people looking to rent or buy a home.

“People are growing weary of these reports. Parents don’t need another report to tell them that their adult children living in their box rooms cannot afford a home.

“It is no way for our young people to live; no way to build your own life; no way to build a relationship; No way to build a family.

“What they need is a government that has the plan and the will to bring about the radical strategic reset in housing policy that the Housing Commission says is required,” she said.

Pictured: Mairéad Farrell.