Dessie Ellis TD made the call following a report from property website daft.ie.
He said: "The consequences of these continuous rent increases are not trivial and it affects everyone dependent on the private rental sector for accommodation. This includes middle income working families who cannot afford to save to buy a home, low income families that are paying up to 60% of their disposable income on rent and the students whose number is on the increase every year, with fewer properties available to meet this growth.
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"Sinn Féin brought forward a Bill that would have provided rent certainty for landlords and tenants alike and this was rejected by both Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael. This Bill would have linked rent increases and decreases to the Consumer Price Index which would have provided some stability for the market.
"The government's housing action plan offers little hope for those in the private rental sector other than a vague pledge to commission a white paper included in the plan.
"With 2,000 children now in emergency accommodation it is clear that household poverty is increasing. The government must recognise that rent certainty is key to alleviating pressure on these households."
(CD/JP)
