By Sean Moriarty

The crippling cost of car hire in Ireland is going to have a detrimental effect on the local tourism industry.

That is according to a local councillor and is backed up by research conducted by the Killarney Advertiser.

Kerry Airport is by far the most expensive place to rent a car in a list of 10 popular tourist destinations across Europe.

The cost of renting a small car like a Fiat 500, at Kerry Airport, will cost €713 over three days in July.

The cheapest like-for-like rental over the same period is available at Frankfurt in Germany and costs just €109.

Renting a car in London, the second dearest location in the Killarney Advertiser’s survey, is cheaper than renting a car in Kerry but British rentals still far exceed average European averages.

The extortionate prices being charged in Ireland are forcing holidaymakers to cancel their arrangements according to Deputy Mayor of Kerry, Councillor Michael Cahill.

“Visitors to this country are being faced with car hire costs that are totally unaffordable and are the cause of cancellations on a daily basis. Those tourists who wish to view Ireland by car are a large percentage of the overall figure and pricing them out of the market, could be fatal for this very important industry,” he said.

"Hotel, Guest House and B&B operators across the county are receiving cancellation after cancellation as a direct result of the enormous increase in car hire and this issue needs to be addressed as a matter of extreme urgency before it destroys the tourist season here in Kerry.”

Councillor Cahill raised the issues at a recent meeting of Kerry County Council.

“When a prospective visitor to Ireland budgets for their holiday, any large increase in the cost, like car-hire, could be the reason they would choose another, more affordable destination and we cannot allow that to happen,” Cllr Cahill told the meeting.

"Ireland is fast getting a reputation for being overpriced, and being quoted thousands of euros to hire a car for a week or 10 days is certainly turning visitors away.”

COMPARISON

Three days from July 1 at 10am to July 4 at 10am for a Ford Ka or equivalent on price comparison website Rentalcars.com:

Kerry Airport €713
London Heathrow €594
London Luton €458
Salou €240
Faro €198
Paris €179
Brussels €155
Alicante €175
Barcelona €165
Frankfurt €109