asked the Minister for Local Government if he is aware of the unreasonable increase in rents of houses by Offaly County Council under a scheme of rent revision; and that in many cases increases were in the region of £1 to 30/- per week; if he will take action in view of the poor circumstances of many of the tenants who find that the houses are not worth the severe rents now charged; and if he will conduct a public inquiry with a view to cancellation of the increases notified to the tenants, as otherwise they will have to leave the houses and no other accommodation is available.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Offaly House Rents.
17.
I understand that Offaly County Council, at a meeting held in June last, approved certain proposals in relation to the rents charged for 98 houses let on graded rents and 36 houses on fixed rents and confirmed this decision at a meeting held earlier this week.
In so far as the houses let on graded rents are concerned, the council's decision was to the effect that the rent payable by each tenant should be based on his current income rather than on his income as at the date he was first appointed as tenant. The proportion of income which tenants are required to pay in rent under the graded scheme is, in general, less than one-tenth.
In so far as the fixed-rent tenants are concerned, the council's decision was to transfer them to a similar scheme of graded rents.
Under existing law, my consent is required only to the decision of the council in regard to the fixed-rent tenants, and, in this connection, I am drawing their attention to the statement in my Department's circular letter of 30th March last that in cases where a revised rent would represent a large increase in the existing rent of particular tenants, the rents might be adjusted by stages over a period until the appropriate point on their rental scale is reached.
I do not consider that any grounds exist for holding a public inquiry into this matter.