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24th May 2022

Fáilte Ireland weigh in on car rental price surge in Ireland

Fiona Frawley

sign in an airport that reads "car rental" with an icon of a car and key

The organisation has said that the rising cost of car rentals in Ireland is compromising our reputation as a good value for money destination.

Speaking to RTÉ, Fáilte Ireland said that people who cannot secure a car booking may decide not to come to Ireland at all.

They added that this represents a huge loss for the wider tourism industry, as 20% of all overseas tourists to Ireland rent a car, and that those who do spend more time and money and are also more likely to visit rural Ireland.

Earlier this week, an Irish-American tourist spoke on RTÉ’s Claire Byrne Live about being quoted a fee of €10,000 to rent a car in Ireland for three weeks this summer.

Oisin Hayes, from Philadelphia, said he went online to book a car rental for three weeks from mid-July to August and was told the only car available that would suit his family of four was a luxury car priced at €10,000. He told Claire Byrne he could “ship my own car there and back” for the same price.

RTÉ’s research into current car rental prices showed that a ten-day hire of a small car from Dublin Airport at the end of July would set people back around €1,545, with an estate car costing over €5,700 for the same time period.

Header image via Shutterstock 

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