Labour has hit out at Housing Minister Simon Coveney for excluding Limerick, Waterford and Drogheda from rent pressure zones.

Housing spokesperson Jan O'Sullivan said the announcement is "disastrous for tenants".

She said: "Linking rent increases to the Consumer Price Index as the Labour Party has proposed would have been a much fairer way to go.

-- Advertisement --

"When I spoke in the Dáil before Christmas on the Government's Housing Bill, I warned that the criteria to qualify for a 4 percent cap on rent increases per year were too restrictive, especially relating to hikes in four of the last six quarters.

"The people of Limerick, Waterford, Drogheda and other parts of the country are now left with no protection from steep hikes."

(CD)