The government has ruled out following Germany's example by introducing an emergency freeze on rents here. Tanaiste Simon Coveney claimed investors and landlords here would leave the market and the solution to spiralling rents was increasing the supply of properties. Solidarity-People Before Profit TD Richard Boyd Barrett pressed the government to agree to an emergency freeze here to mirror the German initiative to tackle exorbitant rents. While Mr Boyd Barrett insisted that could be copied here, Mr Coveney suggested recent rent pressure zones were an “alternative” to rent freezes. These had also been extended to include so-called 'cuckoo' funds, who buy up or rent properties in bulk.

Source: Irish Examiner June 20, 2019 17:14 UTC