Republican News · Thursday 13 February 2003

Blanchardstown tenants protest rent hikes

Over 100 people protested outside Fingal County Council Offices in Dublin on Monday afternoon over the local authority's unprecedented rent increases.

Mary Lou McDonald, Sinn Féin's representative in Dublin West, joined tenants from the Blanchardstown area outside the council's offices just prior to a scheduled council meeting to voice the concerns of the tenants.

"The Fingal County manager thinks that it is OK to abolish the ceilings on the amount of rent that can be charged to tenants in council homes," Mary Lou said.

"This move has resulted in some householders receiving demands of rent increases in excess of 100%. We are here today to let the county manager know that this is not acceptable and that we are demanding the ceiling on rents be reintroduced."

The outrageous rise in house prices in the Dublin region in recent years means that more and more people have been forced into both the private and social renting sectors.

The tenants are calling for future increases in rent to be linked to inflation and for more affordable housing be provided, in light of the government's decision to allow builders to buy their way out of providing affordable housing within new housing schemes.