Sinn Fein TD Pearse Doherty has said it’s €200 cheaper to fly to Rome to see Bruce Springsteen than travel within Ireland for the American star’s gig in the RDS Arena.
Mr Doherty was asking Green Party Minister Eamon Ryan what the Government’s plan was to stop some Dublin hotels charging extortionate prices.
He said: “Bruce Springsteen is coming to town next year to play three nights at the RDS and so out of control have hotel prices become that we had a caller named Stephen from the West who called into Ocean FM [radio] today.
“He explained that the cost to see Bruce Springsteen and to stay in Dublin for the night is so expensive that he looked at alternatives.
“So he found that it was €200 cheaper for the concert ticket, the flight and a night in Rome than it is to travel up the road to Dublin and stay a night here in a hotel after the concert.
“So Stephen and his friends are flying off to Rome to see Bruce Springsteen in the Circus Maximus instead of the RDS.
“Replacing one circus from another.”
Mr Doherty pointed out that Minister Ryan is responsible for transport while the Green Party’s deputy leader, Catherine Martin is responsible for tourism.
The Donegal TD added: “So we’ve a Minister who wants people to travel less but because of the accommodation crisis in this city, it’s making people travel more.
“So Minister you couldn’t make this up.
“What is the Government going to do about the rip-off hotel prices that are being charged in this city?”
In response, Minister Ryan said the cost of staying in a Dublin hotel is “a real issue.”
He added: “It’s not good for Dublin.
“It’s not good for everyone and it does have to stop.
“We need to find ways in which it’s not so expensive.
“It’ll be very difficult, it’s not an easy challenge but the Minister Catherine Martin will work, I think the Tanáiste and the Department of Enterprise also have a role.
“The industry is one of the most important industries in the country..”
Speaking earlier this week, Tanáiste Leo Varadkar hit out at hotels who are price gouging and warned their treatment of customers will influence the Government’s decision on whether to increase their VAT rate next year.
He said: “One thing I would say to hoteliers in the meantime, while there might be a shortage of accommodation and space in your hotels, don’t engage in overcharging.
“The Government took a decision not to put the 9% VAT rate back up, when it comes to look at that next year, we don’t want to have to look at putting that back up again next year.
“How customers are treated will be a factor that we take into account to make that decision and also bear in mind what happened 10 or 15 years ago when the Irish tourism industry got a bad reputation internationally for overcharging, the price was paid a few years later.
“It is important to treat consumers well and not engage in overcharging.”
