The head of the Housing Agency says a soft rent control system may work here.

However he is cautioning against hard controls, which are seen as likely to push more landlords out of the system.

John O'Connor says a level of control is necessary:

He also says "we need a market that works" for both tenants and landlords:

A report earlier this week warned against introducing rent controls to deal with problems in the private rental market.

The Private Residential Tenancies Board found that the Dublin market in particular has had large rent increases, as demand outstrips supply.

However the board said rent controls would make the issue worse for tenants, and could lead to tens of thousands of rented properties leaving the system.

Instead the PRTB recommended a cut in the tax burden on landlords and a code of conduct between lenders, landlords and tenants when buy-to-let mortgages fall into arrears.

Last week, the Environment Minister said he would not be ruling out rent controls in the future.

Minister Alan Kelly told Newstalk Lunchtime that, despite reports to the contrary, he has never ruled out rent control and “it’s something that will be continuously looked at.”

Last month rental prices in Dublin were up 12.1% on the same three month period last year. Outside Dublin the icnrase was a far calmer 3.2% for apartments. The average rent for an apartment in Dublin is now €1,134, according to the Quarterly Rent Index of the Private Residential Tenancies Board.