Social justice campaigner Fr Peter McVerry has called for the Government to introduce emergency rent controls to help combat homelessness.
Speaking at a public meeting organised by the IMPACT trade union, Fr McVerry said increased rents were now the leading cause of homelessness.
He claimed that the rent supplement provided to those living in urban areas was 'totally inadequate'.
Fr McVerry added that the Department of Social Protection, instead of being part of the solution to the homelessness crisis, was now part of the problem.
He said the failure to provide security of tenure to those in rented accommodation was also increasing homelessness.
At the meeting, Fr McVerry said that landlords evicted tenants unnecessarily and without a reasonable period of notice.
He called for a substantial increase in rent allowance, but claimed that only one in ten landlords in the greater Dublin area was willing to accept the payment.
