The deputy chief executive of Dublin City Council Brendan Kenny has said that the council is currently dealing with 25 cases of overcrowding and substandard rented accommodation.
He was speaking after a programme by RTÉ Investigates highlighted dangerously overcrowded accommodation in the private rental sector.
The six-month long investigation - Nightmare to Let - which was broadcast on Prime Time, revealed that more than half of rental properties in almost every county are failing to meet national standards if and when they are inspected by local authorities.
In relation to a property in Crumlin where 64 people were housed, despite warnings of endangerment to life, Mr Kenny apologised, saying the council "holds its hand up" and that this should not have happened.
Speaking on RTÉ News at One, Mr Kenny said the council’s "system needs to be fixed" and he gave a "cast-iron guarantee" that complaints will be taken on board in the future.
He stressed his belief that the Government must introduce legislation and regulations to force "unscrupulous" landlords to ensure their accommodation is up to scratch.
Mr Kenny said "The government needs to introduce legislation and regulation to provide serious penalties.
"If a landlord was to be fined €1m, €500,000 or even €100,000 or if we had the power to injunct landlords that will stop it rather than have to inspect every property in the city.
"At the moment we are dealing with 25 different cases. If people check back [on] the newspapers over the past 12 months, there have been a number of other cases.
"There was a very serious case up in Mountjoy Square that was dealt with and closed down, so there are other cases out there."
The Chair of Dublin City Council Housing Committee has said a full report is needed from Dublin City Council, saying people, including landlords, need to be held responsible for a lack of action.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Drivetime, Sinn Féin Councillor Daithí Doolan said Dublin City Council is not bringing landlords to court, which he said "beggars belief".
He described last night's programme as upsetting and shocking.
He said substandard private rental conditions are another aspect of the current housing crisis.
Mr Doolan said robust legislation is needed, where landlords face more severe penalties.
"We do need to have the legislation updated. We do need to update our penalties against landlords who fail to comply with regulations, but, also, Dublin City Council need to rise to the challenge and those people involved in Dublin City Council management need to be held to account," he said.
He added: "They need to respond quicker and need to be more proactive in dealing with the landlords however limiting the legislation is, Dublin City Council managers need to bring the buck to bear."
Speaking on the same programme, Fergal Scully of the Dublin Tenant's Association said tenants have very little rights and there are loopholes that need to be addressed.
He said Dublin City Council need to increase its level of inspectors.
Earlier, Tánaiste Frances Fitzgerald said the Government has absolutely no tolerance for anybody who would provide the sort of accommodation featured in last night's programme.
Govt has 'no tolerance' for anybody who would provide the sort of accommodation featured in #RTEInvestigates - Fitzgerald pic.twitter.com/C5k1VwoXKo
— RTÉ News (@rtenews) November 3, 2017
Asked what the Government was going to do about it, Ms Fitzgerald said it was about monitoring and inspection, and the changing role of the Residential Tenancies Board, so that it had a more proactive role, going out examining those situations and taking action.
"Clearly that was disgraceful," Ms Fitzgerald said.
"We have absolutely no tolerance for anybody who would provide that sort of accommodation.
"It's about monitoring, its about inspection and the changing role of the Residential Tenancies Board so that it has a more proactive role in terms of going out and examining those situations and taking action."
The Lord Mayor of Dublin has said he is awaiting a response from the chief executive of Dublin City Council over last night's programme.
Micheál Mac Donncha said he was very concerned that RTÉ received no response from the council when they alerted them about substandard accommodation.
Dublin City has the biggest concentration of rental properties in the country, yet it has one of the lowest levels of inspections.
Data released to RTÉ Investigates via Freedom of Information revealed that just 2.4% of rental properties in Dublin were inspected by the city council last year.
Among them a was property located on Old County Road in Crumlin in which an RTÉ undercover researcher rented a bed at €250 per month.
The multi-occupancy property housed 40 tenants across ten bedrooms. The building did not have a properly maintained fire detection system or properly maintained firefighting equipment.
During RTÉ's investigation, building work also began on an extension at the rear of the premises. It housed an additional 24 people, bringing the total number of tenants in the property to 64.
RTÉ's undercover researcher reported concerns to Dublin City Council in relation to the Crumlin property four times before a report was passed to Dublin Fire Brigade in September.
Dublin Fire Brigade then sent in six officers to carry out a full inspection at 12-14 Old County Road.
Five days later, the fire brigade obtained a High Court Order to evacuate the premises, with the judge describing it as a "fire trap".
The Minister of State with Responsibility for Housing and Urban Development, meanwhile, has said the delay by Dublin City Council in dealing with the complaint was not acceptable.
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Damien English said he was surprised by the delay, but was glad that the case was dealt with effectively in the end.
"The process should not have taken eight weeks and should not have taken four or five weeks. That is something we will check out," Mr English said.
"It is not acceptable and we will check out what happened there."
#RTEInvestigates 'I've no shower since before Christmas ... There's holes in the floor, yep. I think there's mice in there as well.' pic.twitter.com/ilFL5Ia85v
— RTÉ News (@rtenews) November 2, 2017
