Maynooth has been designated as a Rent Pressure zone.

Housing Minister Simon Coveney made the announcement under the Government's rental strategy aimed at protecting tenants from unreasonable rent increases.

Fine Gael Kildare North TD, Bernard Durkan, said: "This will help protect tenants from unreasonable rent increases, as it has done in Dublin and Cork where the scheme began,and in other areas of Kildare, added to the scheme earlier this year.

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"At the initial announcement of the Government's Rental Strategy, Dublin and Cork were initially designated Rent Pressure Zones as these areas were experiencing continuous unsustainable rental increases for four of the previous six months, and the rents there were above the national average. Minister Coveney gave a commitment to look at other areas of the country at the time.

"This was done on the basis of data gathering and consultation with Local Authorities. The Housing Agency was instructed to examine the parts of the country that met the qualifying criteria and then Naas, Sallins, Celbridge, Leixlip, Rathangan, Kildare, Newbridge were added in January. Now Maynooth has been designated a Rent Pressure Zone on this basis also."

(CD)