{"id":875685,"date":"2021-10-13T15:28:45","date_gmt":"2021-10-13T19:28:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=875685"},"modified":"2021-10-13T15:28:46","modified_gmt":"2021-10-13T19:28:46","slug":"fact-check-did-irish-deputy-prime-minister-leo-varadkar-say-that-introducing-a-rent-freeze-could-create-a-nightmare-scenario","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/fact-check-did-irish-deputy-prime-minister-leo-varadkar-say-that-introducing-a-rent-freeze-could-create-a-nightmare-scenario\/","title":{"rendered":"FACT CHECK: Did Irish Deputy Prime Minister Leo Varadkar Say That Introducing A Rent Freeze Could Create A \u2018Nightmare Scenario\u2019?"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">40<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ffact-check-did-irish-deputy-prime-minister-leo-varadkar-say-that-introducing-a-rent-freeze-could-create-a-nightmare-scenario%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=875685&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><\/div>\n<p>An image <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/photo?fbid=10227010269025997&amp;set=a.2748578996982\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">shared on Facebook<\/a> over 19,000 times claims that Irish T\u00e1naiste (deputy prime minister) Leo Varadkar said that introducing a rent freeze could create a \u201cnightmare scenario\u201d that would allow low-income people to buy property.<\/p>\n<p><span><strong>Verdict: False<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>There is no evidence Varadkar made those remarks. The claim originated with a satirical Twitter account.<\/p>\n<p><span><strong>Fact Check:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>The Facebook post shows a screen grab of an Oct. 2 <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/DrHaroldNews\/status\/1444343191134773249\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">tweet<\/a> from user @DrHaroldNews that reads, \u201cLeo Varadkar warns introducing a rent freeze could create a \u2018nightmare scenario\u2019, where landlords would be forced to sell their extra houses, which would then drive house prices down, allowing low-income people to get on the property ladder.\u201d The tweet includes an image of Varadkar being interviewed on <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/cZ78NdXvvvs\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">RT\u00c9 News<\/a> in August.<\/p>\n<p>There is, however, no evidence that Varadkar made the statements attributed to him. Nothing resembling the comments could be found on his verified <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/search?f=top&amp;q=nightmare%20scenario%20(rent%20OR%20freeze)%20(from%3Aleovaradkar)&amp;src=typed_query\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">social media<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/leovaradkar\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">accounts<\/a>. There are likewise no&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.ie\/search\/?q=varadkar+nightmare+scenario\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">local<\/a>&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/search\/search-7.4195619?q=varadkar+nightmare+scenario\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">media reports<\/a> about the alleged statements. The purported remarks appear to be satirical, as the @DrHaroldNews Twitter account <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/DrHaroldNews\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">labels itself<\/a> as \u201cfake news, made-up quotes, topical satire.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The image of Varadkar featured in the tweet is from an Aug. 6 <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/cZ78NdXvvvs\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">interview<\/a> he did with <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/cZ78NdXvvvs\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">RT\u00c9 News<\/a>. Varadkar spent much of that appearance addressing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2020\/may\/26\/irish-taoiseach-leo-varadkar-denies-picnic-with-friends-was-covid-19-rule-breach\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">accusations<\/a> that he breached COVID-19 guidelines while attending a recent social event. At no point in the interview does he address freezing rent, according to Check Your Fact\u2019s review. <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/checkyourfact.com\/2021\/05\/04\/fact-check-congress-pass-bill-first-time-homebuyers-25000-assistance\/\">(RELATED: Did Congress Pass A Bill Giving First-Time Homebuyers $25,000 In Down Payment Assistance?)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Rent controls are becoming a contentious topic in parts of Europe, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/2021\/07\/29\/rent-controls-are-becoming-a-highly-divisive-issue-in-europe.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">CNBC<\/a>.&nbsp;Varadkar defended the government\u2019s regulation of rent control in September, saying that there needs to be \u201ca balance\u201d between controlling rental pricing and landlords\u2019 revenue, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/news\/politics\/varadkar-defends-rent-controls-one-person-s-rent-is-another-person-s-income-1.4679899\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Irish Times<\/a> reported. \u201cOne person\u2019s rent is another person\u2019s income \u2013 it might be their pension, it might be how they pay their mortgage,\u201d he said according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/news\/politics\/varadkar-defends-rent-controls-one-person-s-rent-is-another-person-s-income-1.4679899\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">the outlet<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>An image shared on Facebook over 19,000 times claims that Irish T\u00e1naiste (deputy prime minister) Leo Varadkar said that introducing a rent freeze could create a \u201cnightmare scenario\u201d that would &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-875685","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/875685","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=875685"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/875685\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=875685"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=875685"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=875685"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}