There are fresh calls for the cost of building to be brought down – in a bid to address the housing crisis.

The latest report from Daft.ie found the average rent has now reached an all-time high of €1,077.

It’s the largest annual increase ever recorded by the property website, since their reports began in 2002.

Tom Parlon of the Construction Industry Federation says the cost of building remains a key factor: “The powers that be need to sit down and look at what couples can afford to borrow within the central bank regulations.

“And they need to look at the costs and where those costs are coming from, and if whether it be the VAT again or the very, very substantial levies that are there.

“I believe they need to be addressed if we are to reduce the costs of construction of houses.”