Eoin O'Brien

What utter nonsense.

This is exactly what the government intended to happen when they introduced the controversial rent hike bill.

The purpose was for rents effectively to hit double digit numbers.

We produced a very detailed analysis during the course of that legislation based on Residential Tenancies Board rent data showing that this would happen.

I think the only thing that government is probably thinking today is that

the impact on rents is coming much quicker than they thought.

If you think about this, a 4.4% quarterly increase in rents means if that trend continues, and it's likely to, you're looking at 18% over the course of the year.

And that is already happening across a number of our cities.

Galway City, for example, according to the DAF.E report, rents up 18%.

Cork City, where Seamus represents, up 13%.

And the idea that this will somehow lead to an increase in supply is not credible.

Even Ronan Lyons, who supports some of these measures, both in the Dart.ie report and in Morning Ireland, was raising questions as to whether it would indeed increase supply.

At the very best, it's going to lead to a small amount of very expensive supply in parts of Dublin and Cork.

The rest of the country will be left behind, including Seamus's own constituency.

And the only certainty is ever greater numbers of people will be paying thousands upon thousands of years extra in rent.

And those who will not be able to afford those rents, the thousands of people who've received eviction notices over the last nine months, they will be left either moving back home with their parents, forced to emigrate,

or forced into emergency accommodation.

That is the deliberate decision of this government to punish renters for their failed policies over the last decade in the promise of maybe some supply, maybe in two, three, four, five years, if it comes at all.

Well, while that may be in the speaking note that Seamus was given by his press office, he doesn't believe that.

And here's the reason why.