Rents continue to spiral upwards across the country with the last quarter seeing a 7% increase on the year before. 

The latest Daft.ie report shows monthly rents rose for the 14th consecutive quarter and they now average €1,922 nationwide. 

Limerick City saw the greatest rise, up 21% year on year, while Cork and Galway both saw rent inflation of over 10%. 

By contrast, in Dublin - where much of the new housing is being built - rents rose by 3.5% in the space of a year. 

Trinity College economist and author of the report Ronan Lyons said supply outside of Dublin has dropped off dramatically. 

“If we go back a number of years and we look at how many homes there would have been available - say the average across the late 2010s - you’re typically talking at something like 500 homes available to rent at any point in time across Cork, Galway and Limerick,” he said. 

“But on August 1st this year, there were just 151 homes in those four cities combined.” 

A housing estate under construction. Image: David Creedon / Alamy

Professor Lyons said the impact of this will hit students particularly hard as they return for the new academic year. 

“What’s certainly sad about it is that people will choose places that reflect what they think is going to be easier for them to live,” he said. 

“They may not put down the best course for them objectively because they’re worried about the lack of rental housing.

“So, in other words, they’re selling their future short simply because there’s not enough rental housing at the moment.” 

Last month, Taoiseach Simon Harris said it would be “hard to predict” when housing will become affordable once again.

Main image: Apartment buildings on the north wall of Dublin's Docklands. Picture by: Radharc Images / Alamy Stock Photo