Enda Kenny urged to tackle soaring rents as monthly average exceeds €1,000

Taoiseach Enda Kenny has been urged to immediately address spiraling residential rental market prices in response to revelations the cost of finding a home has now reached its highest-ever recorded rate.

Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin insisted on fresh emergency steps to tackle the problem after a new property market report found average rents are up at least 12% since last year throughout Dublin and its sprawling commuter belt.

Mr Martin, during Leaders Questions in the Dáil, said it was time to resolve the “crisis in the rental market” as it was leading to a breakdown in social cohesion and “exacerbating the homelessness crisis”.