James Browne said rents are ‘way too high’ as he unveiled a new package of rent controls.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin said these were the ‘strongest set of rent protection measures we’ve ever had in the history of the state’.

James Browne said rents are ‘way too high’ in Ireland, but would not comment on when he expected them to fall.

Sweeping new changes will be brought to Cabinet for approval on Tuesday after being signed off by the coalition party leaders and senior ministers on Monday night. 

The proposed changes, to be discussed by Cabinet this morning, would see a new system for newly-built homes, whereby landlords can increase rent in line with inflation.

Rent pressure zones (RPZ) were introduced in 2016 to help control spiralling costs for tenants.

The Taoiseach sent emails he received from his Cork South-Central constituents for the Housing Minister to examine.

Rents rose by 19% in Limerick city and 10% in Cork city in the final quarter of the year compared with 12 months earlier.

Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have come under pressure after claiming that around 40,000 new homes would be built in 2024, when the final figure was 30,330.

Here, we have a look at the topics likely to dominate political discourse in the week to come

Opposition parties have warned that abolishing rental controls could lead to spikes in rental costs

The Commission said that Ireland has an opportunity to change policy to improve the lives of citizens.