Jack Wall (Kildare South, Labour)

Last week a concert was held in Dublin and the hotels racked up their prices for it. One hotel that I have frequented on a number of occasions was charging €195 for a single room. It is unthinkable that a hotel would increase the price of a room to that extent. The price was not negotiable. We are supposed to be competitive in this sector. If a business person comes to this city, seeks overnight accommodation and is confronted with that type of cost, it is hard to understand how the Minister can say accommodation is not an issue. We discussed the racking up of hotel prices with the Minister previously. Why is a mechanism not put in place to deter that practice, in the interests of tourism and business-related visits?

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