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Killarney hoteliers and service providers to the tourist industry are in danger of pricing themselves out of the market.

That is according to councillor Donal Grady who raised the matter at the first meeting of Killarney Municipal District on Tuesday of this week.

Prices have increased since the government increased the VAT rate in the tourism sector from 9 per cent to 13.5 per cent in last year’s budget.

Mr Grady put forward the motion: “That we Killarney Municipal District would request the Minister of Transport, Tourism and Sport to reverse the increase of rate of VAT in the Tourism Sector, i.e. from 13.5% back to down to 9%, as prices in Killarney have gone far too expensive.”

His proposal was backed by councillor Niall O’Callaghan whose family run the Failte Hotel in the town but he added that it should be raised with the minister as a national issue and not one particular to Killarney.

However Cllr Grady revealed that he had done his own ‘spot’ survey in both Tralee and Killarney and found that prices had increased more than the 4.5 per cent imposed by the budget increase.

“We are getting close to Dublin prices and if we are not careful we will be priced out of the market,” he told the Killarney Advertiser after the meeting. “We have a great town, let us keep it that way, but I am afraid to say it is greed that is driving these price increases and not Brexit or VAT or anything like that.”