Ahead of a specially convened meeting on Thursday, 25 June, the Social Democrats are urging South Dublin County councillors to reject a proposed rise in social housing rents.

Working with Sinn Féin and People Before Profit, the party has used Section 140 of the Local Government Act to put the increases to a vote.

Under the plan, differential rents would move from 10 per cent to 12.5 per cent of household income from 1 July. For many households, this would amount to a 25 per cent increase, with some seeing rises as high as 50 per cent.

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Social Democrats councillors Eoin Ó Broin (Clondalkin) and Justin Sinnott (Rathfarnham) say they are firmly opposed to the move, which would affect around 20,000 South Dublin County Council tenants.

Rory Hearne TD, the Social Democrats housing spokesperson, said: "I commend Cllrs Ó Broin and Sinnott for taking this stance. Public landlords should not be imposing rent hikes in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis.

"Households are struggling to pay their energy bills and feed their families as the cost of everything continues to skyrocket. The last thing social housing tenants need in the middle of this crisis is a rent increase imposed by their local authority."