The average rent for a property in Ireland has surpassed €2,000 a month, according to new figures from Daft.ie.
The property website revealed that rents rose by 3.4% in the first three months of 2025, bringing the average rent on the open market to €2,053 per month - nearly three times the €765 figure recorded in 2011.
Over the 12-month period between March 2024 and this year, rents rose 5.6% compared to 8.6% in the rest of the country.
In Limerick City, rents rose 20% over the course of the year, while increases of 13.6% and 12.6% were recorded in the cities of Cork and Galway respectively.
Out on the streets of Dublin, reporter Barry Whyte found a prevailing sense of dismay about the state of the housing market in Ireland.
One 24-year-old told him there are not enough houses being built and the rental market is “too expensive”.
Close-up of man opening door to a new house. Picture by: SeventyFour Images / Alamy Stock Photo“The Government aren’t doing enough,” he said.
“There’s not enough people to actually build the houses [and] there’s too many people looking for houses.”
He added that while he is living at home for the time being, he will “probably” move away and feels that is the only option for most young people looking to get on the house ladder.
Locals and backpackers spent Christmas Day at Bondi Beach some wearing Santa hats. Picture by: Richard Milnes/Alamy Live News.Another young woman said she was particularly fortunate as she has been living in a property owned by her family for the past six-years.
“I’m very lucky that they’re not going to evict me,” she said.
“Look, I’m one of the only ones that’s left here - there’s only two of us left in Dublin and the rest are gone.
“They’re going to Australia, there’s no one here.”
She added that she was not surprised so many Irish people had left for a new life Down Under.
“The quality of life that they have, you can see why people do it,” she said.
“It’s much more bang for your buck over there.”
Last year, the Australian Embassy in Dublin estimated there were 27,000 Irish visa holders in Australia.
Main image: A person holds keys to a rental property. Picture by: Anna Berkut / Alamy Stock Photo.
