Social welfare recipients 'unable to compete in private rental market'
The Government is being warned that failure to keep rent allowance in line with market values will see more people pushed into homelessness.
The Father Peter McVerry Trust claims the number of families being forced into hotel accommodation has risen every month this year.
The charity said that social welfare recipients are currently unable to compete in the private rental market and the Minister for Social Protection needs to raise the rent caps.
It also wants landlords to be legally forced to accept social welfare tenants.
CEO of the Peter Mc Verry Trust, Pat Doyle, said that the Government needs to take control of the rental market.
"The Minister will say if you increase rent allowances, then the market is going to go up, so the first thing they need to do is bring in rent certainties, and cap them for people, and then they need to raise the rent supplements," he said.
"So it needs to be in line with market values, it needs to be index-linked.
"We've had the highest number of families moved into hotels this month, and that has been increasing month on month since January of this year."
