Galway Bay fm newsroom – The decision to exclude Galway from the Government’s latest plans to relieve pressure on the rental market is being branded ‘outrageous’.
Councillor Niall McNelis argues that if the Government believes there is no rental crisis in Galway, it could not be any further removed from reality.
It follows the unveiling of plans by Minister Simon Coveney, which aim to relieve pressure on renters in Dublin and Cork by introducing caps on rent amounts.
It’s understood the two year rent review brought in by Alan Kelly will still apply to areas outside the two designated pressure zones.
Labour Councillor McNelis says the Government is blind if it cannot see that Galway is at the front line of the crisis.
Meanwhile, the housing minister says his strategy for the rental sector is to let landlords make a reasonable rate of return, but not charge what they want.
Simon Coveney’s capping rent hikes at 4% a year in Dublin and Cork – though that will still mean increases of hundreds of euro a year for those tenants.
He’s rejected calls for those who wanted rent hikes linked to the rate of inflation.