Latest: 50% of the people who came to us last year were people who were working and at immediate risk of losing their homes.

“So I suppose one of the issues that is going to be critical here is what is going to happen in relation to providing affordable rental accomodation.

“People will be renting in this country for the forseeable future, and affordablility is going to be a major major issue.”

Earlier: We will find out today how the Government plans to tackle rising rental costs.

The plans are expected to include rent caps in so-called “pressure zones” including Cork and Dublin.

Annual rents in these pressure zones will only be allowed to increase by 4% a year in a bid to bring the market under control – an increase of around €40 on the national average rent, or around €55 for people renting in Dublin.

The caps would apply for three years and be monitored by the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB).

The RTB will also decide what areas apply for caps and what areas should be removed after the three years.

The two-year rent review brought in by Alan Kelly will still apply to areas outside the pressure zones, according to reports.

The plans are being brought to Cabinet this morning by Housing Minister Simon Coveney.

The Government rental plan is also expected to include fresh incentives for developers to build new, realistically priced rental property on State-owned land banks and to encourage local councils to fast-track thousands of currently vacant homes back into use.