Ownership also promotes capitalism. If the "owners" of these flats weren't so gung ho about making money and AirBnb'in out to tourists this problem wouldn't ari

Ownership also promotes capitalism. If the "owners" of these flats weren't so gung ho about making money and AirBnb'in out to tourists this problem wouldn't arise in the first place. Housing is scarce, always has been. The prices are not "inflated", they are merely a symptom of the underlying reality which is that there's only so much housing to go around and given the option of making money (renting) and making a lot more money (airbnb), landlords will obviously choose the latter. My guess is a majority of these so called landlords are of modest means and would be harmed significantly by overbearing rent control programs. The only sensible solution to this problem is to enact policies that encourage developers to build (increased supply will lower rent costs) or enact policies that somehow limit the number of tourists coming to Dublin (doesn't seem reasonable or desirable). Any attempt to artifically manipulate the price of housing up or down via regulation will at worst, end in disaster or exacerbate the current crisis.