RENT now costs nearly €8,000 more in Donegal than it did since the Covid-19 pandemic, new figures show.
Some claim that the stats from property website Daft.ie expose the “scale of the rental crisis” in the county.
The company’s latest report shows annual rental costs per calendar year have doubled by €7,800 compared with 2020.
Five years ago, the average rental cost was €650 a month, but it is now €1,300 monthly – which is a 50 per cent increase and amounts to €7,800 over 12 months.
It means that average rent in the county in 2020 was €7,800 a year but is now €15,600.
Pearse Doherty TD says Donegal wages are lagging behind soaring costs as new figures show that average rent in Donegal has doubled from €650 a month to €1,300.
Donegal TD Pearse Doherty pointed out that this increase is not consistent with the rise in wages in the county and warned: “Wages in Donegal have not doubled since 2020.”
He said: “These new figures show the scale of the rental crisis facing people in Donegal, with the cost of renting having doubled since 2020.
“It is placing further pressure on families and workers who are struggling with the cost of living.
“The Government needs to urgently reduce rents and ban rent increases.
“According to the figures, the cost of renting in Donegal has doubled since 2020. The average amount now paid to rent a home is €1,300.
“It shows just how badly renters in Donegal have been let down by successive governments
“It means families are now facing an additional cost of around €7,800 every single year compared with six years ago.
“That is €650 extra every month that families and workers are having to find ways to simply to keep a roof over their heads.”
WAGES HAVE NOT DOUBLED
Deputy Doherty added: “For a family already struggling with the cost of groceries, energy, childcare, transport and other household bills, this is an enormous amount of money.
“Wages in Donegal have not doubled since 2020. Social welfare payments have not doubled. Household incomes have not doubled.
“This is the consequence of a chronic failure to deliver enough affordable and social homes alongside a mismanaged defective concrete block crisis and a refusal to introduce a ban on rent increases.
“You should not need two good incomes to have a roof over your head in this state, but these figures suggest that is exactly what is required.
“These figures are another stark warning to the Government that the housing crisis is getting worse, not better.”