A report carried out by the Economic Social Research Institute did not find a significant rent arrears problem during the first three months of the Covid-19 pandemic, Minister for Housing Darragh O'Brien has told the Dáil.
He was responding to Sinn Féin's Housing Spokesperson Eoin Ó Broin, who said many people had lost income or jobs as a result of Covid-19 restrictions.
Mr Ó Broin said that his party had carried out an online survey of over 1,000 renters and 70% of respondents said they would have rent arrears of up to €3,000 after the first three months of the pandemic.
Minister O'Brien said many renters were in hospitality and the sectors that were badly hit by the pandemic. He also said it was "concern" that only 7,000 people had