Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy says people are paying too much in rent and this has to be better controlled.
The Residential Tenancies Board's new Rent Index shows a rise of €77 year-on-year in the cost of average rents across the country.
National rents grew by 7.6% per year in the second quarter of 2018, up from 6.9% in the previous quarter.
The national average rent is now €1,094, while in Dublin the average rent is €1,587.
The Residential Tenancies Board's new Rent Index reveals the national average rent was €1,094, while in Dublin the average rent was €1,587.
Director of the Residential Tenancies Board, Rosalind Carroll, outlines the rental situation in cities across the country:
She said: "When we look at the Galway market, it has gone up by 7.6%, if we are just looking at the cities, but in Limerick we are looking at a 12.4% rise, that's the highest increase of all the cities.
"Dublin city, if you just took the city in isolation, had a 9.5% increase while Waterford city has a much more moderate increase of 3.8% and in Cork city it's 6.2%."
The Index shows the rate of rental inflation year-on-year for existing tenancies was 4.9%, compared to 8.4% for new tenancies.
This shows rent inflation in existing tenancies is more in line with what we would expect to see in Rent Pressure Zones.
Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy says he will shortly be introducing new rent protection measures into the Dáil.
