A report showing rents increased at the highest rate on record in the first three months of this year is not based on a comprehensive data set for the entire market, the Taoiseach has said.During testy Dáil exchanges on Wednesday, Micheál Martin defended Government changes to rent controls, which came into effect in the period covered by the Daft.ie report showing rents surged by 4.4 per cent in the first quarter.Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald said the rental rule changes had been a “disaster”, and that evictions were at their highest level since during the famine period in the 19th century.“It takes a very particular type of sleeveen to stand in this House and suggest that it is okay for families to face a rent bill of €30,000 a year in Dublin and €27,000 a year in Galway,” she said.The report notes a year-on-year rent increase of 18 per cent in Galway, followed by Cork (13 per cent), Limerick (10 per cent), Waterford (8 per cent) and Dublin (6.9 per cent).[ These figures tell the real story of Fianna Fáil’s impact on housingOpens in new window ]The Taoiseach told the House “you have to treat the Daft data with care in terms of any proper comprehensive analysis of the rental market”, pointing to Central Statistics Office data showing a 0.3 per cent monthly change in rents for the first quarter. He said the latest Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) data showed continued growth in the number of tenancies to 246,000, which was “the highest on record”.Martin said the Housing Commission “recommended that we had to change the rental situation”, as the previous model was not sustainable.McDonald accused the Taoiseach of having “chosen deliberately to side with corporate landlords and with vulture funds” and accused him of being a “sleeveen”. When called on by the Ceann Comhairle to withdraw her comment, she said to repeated interruptions and heckling that “a sleeveen is a sleeveen”. “A rose by any other name, and a sleeveen by any other name, shame on you.”The Taoiseach said McDonald was “not being serious about our housing problems”. “We have a housing crisis here, but all I see from the Opposition, Sinn Féin in particular, is empty rhetoric, no solutions, the usual kind of sloganeering that won’t build houses.”Social Democrats leader Holly Cairns highlighted the case of a young woman named Lauren who is struggling to find a place to live in Galway despite going down “every avenue possible”.[ Government was advised that rent reforms carried ‘significant’ risk of evictionsOpens in new window ]“After nearly a year on a waiting list for private student accommodation, she was finally offered a studio, but the condition was €12,000 up front for nine months,” Cairns said. “How is anyone supposed to afford that, let alone somebody fresh out of secondary school?” she asked. The Taoiseach said more supply is needed rapidly. “The Government has taken decisions that will ensure over time – it’s going to take time – we get more supply.”He said he looked at Social Democrats proposals and there was nothing “that would increase supply over the next three years”. He suggested the proposals would in fact produce fewer homes than the Government’s approach. Aontú leader Peadar Tóibín said the monthly average rent in Dublin city was heading towards an “eye-watering” €3,000. He said it was “incredible” that Dublin has the highest rent in the whole of the EU for one- and two-bedroom accommodation.The Taoiseach told him the Government brought in a rental tax credit to try to ease pressure on renters. He accepted that rents were too high and said “the only way to deal with it is to get more houses built and get more apartments built”.