The Government is being urged to establish a commission on the Private Rented Sector (PRS) to make it fit for purpose.

The national housing charity Threshold renewed its appeal following the increase in homeless figures throughout Ireland.

Bob Jordan, CEO of Threshold said the commission would examine all of the difficulties facing the rented sector.

Mr Jordon said: "In terms of the State's policy response, Threshold is saying that Ireland now needs to 'grow up' when it comes to the private rented sector. One in five families depend on the private rented sector to provide them with a home. It is second only to home ownership in terms of the number of people who rely on it.

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"But many of these households live in fear of a rent increase, have little or no security, and don't know what the future holds. A new European research report published last week points to a particular problem with the level of evictions in the private rented sector in Ireland. This cannot continue and families need certainty about how long they can stay in their homes and how much they will be paying in rent.

"The State also relies on the private rented sector, but is often unwilling to pay what it really costs to house people there. Rent supplement limits are completely out-of-kilter with the market and need to be raised to keep people in their rented homes. In some areas of Dublin, this means increasing rent supplement payments by 40 to 50 per cent. Administrative obstacles and payment delays also need to be addressed in a complete overhaul of the flawed scheme."

(CD/MH)