LAST UPDATE | 13 Nov

Fine Gael and Labour Party election posters on the poles on Merrion Street in Dublin. Leah Farrell Leah Farrell

IT’S DAY SIX of the election campaign – here’s the latest:

• Taoiseach Simon Harris will sit down with Virgin Media’s Collette Fitzpatrick tonight for a one-on-one interview at 10pm. Micheál Martin and Mary Lou McDonald will also be appearing in the same slot during the election campaign. 
• Expect any politician facing the media today to be asked (or asked again) about how they plan to help renters. The latest report from Daft.ie, published this morning, finds rents are up 43% on pre-Covid levels. 
• The findings come as the issue of housing continues to dominate the election campaign – most of the main parties have unveiled promises in the area, with Sinn Féin the latest out of the traps yesterday.
• Meanwhile, we’ve factchecked four of the claims made during Monday night’s housing debate on RTÉ One’s Upfront with Katie Hannon, where much of the focus of the debate was on two schemes designed to help first-time buyers.
• The Social Democrats and Labour launched (separate) plans on housing: the Soc Dems promised to freeze rents for three years and end ‘no-fault’ evictions; while Labour’s manifesto promises to restrict evictions and introduce a deposit-protection scheme for renters.
• In terms of another massive issue for many voters, Fine Gael has pledged to cap childcare at €200 per child and €600 p/m for families with 3+ kids.
• Our FactCheck team looks at the racist conspiracy theory that has been showing up in election campaign material.
• Last night, Simon Harris took to Instagram Live to let people know a new Fine Gael government would phase out the student contribution for third-level students.

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