Rent Supplements are being increased by between 15 and 29 percent to reflect rising rents across the country.

It's among the measures designed to alleviate the housing crisis - which has seen thousands of families forced out of rental accommodation into emergency housing.

Homeless charities are welcoming the increases - which they say will level the playing field for renters.

Juliette Gash reports;

Every county has a maximum rent limit, within which Rent Supplement can be paid. This new measure agreed by Cabinet means that maximum rent limits will increase in every part of Ireland, with the increase reflecting the pressures on rental properties in each particular location.

For this reason there are increases in both urban and rural areas reflecting local rents, including a 25% average increase in Laois and Roscommon; a 21% average increase in Leitrim, Cork City, Longford, and Galway City; a 29% average increase in Dublin (outside of Fingal); a 19% average increase in Westmeath, Kildare, and Louth; and a 15% average increase in Cavan and Donegal. (This average increase reflects the combined weighted increase in Rent Limits for the following categories: Single Shared; Couple Shared; Single; Couple; Couple/One Parent Family with 1 child; Couple/One Parent Family with 2 children; Couple/One Parent Family with 3 children).

What’s more, anyone who has entered an informal top-up arrangement with their landlord is advised to contact their Community Welfare Service for assistance, as the Department of Social Protection will regularise these top-ups in most cases.