'How did we end up here?' Outrage at Government as 70-year-old woman works two jobs to pay rent

The Government signed off on a controversial plan to create national rent controls on Tuesday, 10 June which are set to be introduced next March. 

Amid the political back and forth, one 70-year-old woman captured the country's attention on Tuesday as she explained on RTÉ's Liveline that she has been forced to work two jobs in order to pay her rent. 

The Minister for Housing James Browne has argued that the new plan is aimed at protecting renters whilst also progressing the construction of new homes throughout the country to alleviate the housing crisis.

However, there has been uproar from Opposition parties, landlords as well as the real people already facing extortionate rents in Ireland. 

As part of this new plan, the 2% cap on annual rent increases will be in place everywhere for existing properties. However, new apartments will be linked to the rate of inflation and the Minister has said that he hopes this will encourage the construction of more apartments. 

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No-fault evictions will also be banned for renters who are in a home rented out by a landlord who has four or more properties.

Renters involved with smaller landlords will have security tenure for six-years. Landlords will also be able to set rents to market rates between tenants. 

This latest saga in the ongoing housing crisis has caused widespread frustration and anger throughout the country. A 70-year-old woman Eileen joined Katie Hannon on Liveline at lunchtime to describe her exhaustion with the entire situation. 

Instead of enjoying what should be her retirement years, the 70-year-old has been struggling to work two jobs up until Christmas to cover her rent and says she will continue to do so for a number of years to support herself and her disabled daughter. 

Eileen retired from one of her jobs at Christmas time to due to her age. However, her landlord has now decided to sell the property later this year which means she is faced with even higher rents and may have to take on more work again.

Currently, Eileen pays around €1,500 on rent a month which she says is way below average in her area. She said at this stage, she will be lucky to find a property that will cost her €2,000 a month.

Unfortunately, for Eileen, she said that she doesn't see the Government's new rental plan improving the situation for renters like her. Looking for some hope in a seemingly hopeless situation, Eileen said: "Hopefully the Opposition will help them shape it a bit more."

The show's host, Katie Hannon, was shocked at Eileen's situation and simply told her: "You don't deserve the situation that you're in." 

Others rang in to the show to say that Eileen's story was "breaking their heart." One man, Morris, who is actually a homeowner himself said that Eileen's situation would make you wonder as a country "how did we end up here?"

Another man, Cormack, rang Katie to say that this continuing crisis is a major concern for young people about to enter the market but now also older people too such as Eileen who can be forgotten about.