Public Expenditure Minister Paschal Donohoe has outed himself as a Taylor Swift fan as he warned hotels about charging extortionate prices.
Fans have expressed concerns about hotel prices skyrocketing following the announcement that the American superstar will play two nights in the Aviva Stadium in June 2024.
Just hours after the announcement, it was reported that one hotel had increased its prices from €359 to €999 for the nights of the concerts.
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Asked at a press conference about the prices, Minister Donohoe exposed himself as a Swiftie.
He also lamented the fact that Beyoncé did not pay our shores a visit on her recent tour.
“I saw Taylor Swift perform last time she was here in Ireland,” he told reporters.
“I have a pretty good idea about the level of joy and happiness her return to Ireland is going to cause lots of people who are looking forward to seeing her come back.
“At a time in which we may have missed out on Beyoncé and her current tour, it's great to see we're gonna get Taylor Swift. I've also seen the effect that Beyoncé had on inflation levels and other economies.
“Actually, I take pretty seriously the need for the hospitality sector to do the right thing by lots of excited fans that are coming to see a Taylor Swift play in Ireland.
“I have not held back in the past from behaviour that I've seen in the hospitality sector at a time in which we're trying to get the sector back on its own two feet again.
“I think the biggest losers if we see those few nights as an opportunity to make more money, the biggest losers in the long run from all that will be our hotels.”
A spokeswoman for Minister Donohoe later confirmed to the Irish Mirror that his favourite Taylor Swift song is "Exile" featuring Bon Iver.
This is not the first time Minister Donohoe has exposed himself as a country music fan. He hit headlines back in 2014 when he dressed up as a cowboy.
In the wake of the Garth Brooks scandal of 2014, Mr Donohoe, who was Minister for Tourism at the time, donned his cowboy hat to announce a rake of City and Western gigs in Dublin to entertain disappointed fans.
Elsewhere, Transport Minister Eamon Ryan described the hotel prices for the Taylor Swift gigs as “shocking” and “not worth it”.
He told Newstalk Breakfast: “We’ve a real problem when you get that sort of pricing. It does a lot of reputational damage to the city and the country.”
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