Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Brendan Howlin has said "short-term" rent certainty will be part of a new housing package to be unveiled before the end of the year.
He denied there were ongoing difficulties on the issue between Minister for Finance Michael Noonan and Minister for the Environment Alan Kelly.
“There’s neither a row nor a personality clash, no matter what construction you want to put on it,” Mr Howlin said.
He said the housing crisis would only be resolved when adequate supply was in place, but short-term measures need to be taken in the interim.
“Every member of Government is working in a completely unified fashion to find solutions that work and I’m sure that a new package will be unveiled as soon as we come to a conclusion on a working package,” he said.
The introduction of the rent certainty proposals would see residential rents linked to the Consumer Price Index (CPI).
Asked if he was confident rent certainty would be part of the package, he said it would be there as a “short-term measure”.
Mr Howlin was speaking on his way into Cabinet on Tuesday.
He was closely followed by Mr Kelly who said he hoped a package would be ready in the next few weeks.
Mr Kelly said he met Mr Noonan yesterday, and “didn’t sense any negativity there at all”.
He said the package would contain measures on rent and housing supply, which he described as “two sides of the same coin”.
He said “immoral” increases in rent had to be addressed.
Supply measures would take at least 18 months to two years to implement, he said.
