The Republic’s rental crisis is having a “disastrous effect” on social cohesion and shows no sign of ebbing with rents in Dublin now almost 10 per cent higher than their previous peak in early 2008, according to Daft.ie.

The property website’s latest quarterly rental report shows rents rose nationwide by an average of 11.7 per cent in the year to September. This is the largest annual increase in rents ever recorded in the Daft.ie report, which began in 2002.

The report says there have been double-digit rent rises in 37 of the 54 markets analysed. This is up from just 17 markets as recently as late 2015. “This is having a disastrous effect on social cohesion as well as on Irish competitiveness,” it says.

In addition, at €1,077 in the third quarter of the year, the average monthly rent nationwide is at an all-time high.