South Dublin County Council is set to increase rents by 25%; a move that targets struggling working people while failing to address fundamental issues with the state’s housing policy, according to David Gardiner, Workers’ Party representative for Palmerstown-Fonthill.

Gardiner said: “The idea that South Dublin County Council should increase rents on working people at a time when so many are already struggling is a brutal one. Workers already feel the cost-of-living crisis in their lives on a daily basis, and this will only worsen it by taking more money out of people’s pockets.”

“For decades, the state has shirked its responsibilities on housing; refusing to accept the responsibility of being the leading housing provider like it was in the past, in order to push people towards the private market to the benefit of the profiteers.”

“Ultimately, the only way to secure high-quality and genuinely affordable accommodation for working people is the mass construction of public housing. It would provide for social housing tenants as well as those struggling to buy and to rent privately, bringing more revenue into state coffers and allowing the state to provide housing for working people for generations to come.”