Majority of Dubliners support tourist tax which could raise €17.5m annually
Dublin City Council is considering a tourist tax in Dublin city of up to €5 per night, with money raised ringfenced to support culture, infrastructure and the environment.
This figure comes from Head of Economic Development at Dublin City Council Ross Curley, who presented the pros and cons of such a tax to representatives at last Thursday’s Finance SPC meeting. Currently 21 out of 27 EU member states impose a tourist levy and a Your Dublin, Your Voice survey conducted last May indicated that 64% of Dubliners support its implementation.
One suggested structure proposed a per night fee of €2 for 1-2 star hotels, €3 for 3-4 star hotels and Airbnbs, and €5 for 5 star hotels. At a rate of €2 per night, Mr Curley estimated a tourist tax would raise €17.5 million for Dublin City Council annually.
Labour Councillor Dermot Lacey said he supports a tourist levy “1000%” and that he first proposed such a tax in 2002, stating that based on a rate of €2 “the failure of the state to implement such a scheme has cost us €396m” since. While he accepted that groups like the Irish Hotel Federation are opposed to such a tax, he stressed “I have no sympathy for them whatsoever.”
“These are the people who put up prices to €700 or €800 euro per night when there’s a concert in the Aviva. I have no sympathy for leading hoteliers in this country, I’d tax them even more if I could, as they rip off visitors in this city hugely,” he said
Green Party Cllr Michael Pidgeon expressed his support for a tourist tax and questioned the argument that it could have a negative impact on tourism. He said the introduction of such measures in Amsterdam didn’t have any negative impact on the perception of the city.
However, Cllr Pidgeon said he believes that a percentage model would work better than a flat rate as it would be more equitable and better align with inflation. “Even if it's a little bit harder to collect I think a percentage is a lot better because even if you forget or can't change it for a long time it’s moving up with the price of the hotel,” he said.
He also expressed concern that ringfencing funds raised from such a tax is “bad for budgets” and that it would be better to make a commitment to improve services for tourists while funnelling the money earned into the general budget. “The amount we raise through a tourist tax should not determine how much we spend on something else, I would put it into the budget and councillors and the executive decide,” he said.
Mr Curley said that ringfenced money from a tourist levy could act on a “user pays principle,” meaning it would go towards the goods and services utilised by visitors to the city, address damages arising from additional sightseers, and curb the negative environmental impact of tourism. He said different countries have used the funds for various measures, with Wales looking to implement a tax that would fund the promotion of the Welsh language.
Cllr Nial Ring supports the concept of a tax and said the proposed fees are “miniscule” when compared to prices that many hotels in Dublin are charging. His main concern was that, were the tax to be introduced, that the funds would be offset by the government then reducing funding elsewhere.
This is a major point of concern according to Cllr Lacey who stressed the levy would need to be "additional funding, not substitute funding,” calling on the state to stop “stealing money from us we raised ourselves.” While he agreed that ringfencing the money from outset could be counterintuitive, he called for a commitment to putting it toward mutually beneficial projects for tourists and residents alike.
Mr Curley outlined different models implemented by cities and regions across Europe, which could influence the route Dublin City Council ultimately take if a levy is approved. The most recent tourist levy was implemented in Edinburgh, which comes into effect from July 2026 and charges a 5% per room per night fee.
Manchester has a £1 per room per night fee, which raised £2.8m in its first year. Porto charged €3 per person per night up to 7 nights, but waived the fee for minors under 13 years old. The highest rate in Europe is in Amsterdam where visitors pay an extra 12.5% per room per night toward a tourist levy.
An opposing view came from Aidan Sweeney from the business organisation Ibec, who felt the presentation didn’t take into account how much money Dublin City Council already takes in from hotels. He said that commercial rates and VAT already represent large fees for hotels and a full understanding of the finances involved should be considered.
Mr Sweeney also stressed that “ringfencing is the whole point of the tax” and to be put into the general budget to “plug a gap” in the council’s finances is laudable but not appropriate. He also called on representatives to look at the powers of their local authority, as many of the things they are suggesting the funds be used for actually fall to the responsibility of Failte Ireland.
Editor of Travelextra.ie, Eoghan Corry told The Hard Shoulder that the proposed tourist tax is a "two-edged sword." “Cities come up with this, politicians love it, hoteliers and tourists hate it”, he said. “If they can get away with this, politicians will generally push for this.
“They can get away with it if the city's reputation and their visiting power is way beyond things like price and it's not regarded as in competition. It's a two-edged sword. Different markets behave in different ways.”
Sinn Fein Cllr Kourtney Kenny said “I have never gone anywhere in the world and a tax has been a reason not to go.” She called for the money to be ringfenced to support local communities who have been impacted by the negative effects of tourism. “Hotel associations and short-term lets are the reason prices have increased in neighbourhoods through gentrification,” she said.
Susan Whelan from the PPN Greenfields Residents Association expressed interest in the Welsh idea of using the funds to promote language. From coffee shops that utilise the Irish language to tourist experiences carried out as Gaeilge, she said the funds could support making “Irish a living language in the city.”
Another way of offsetting the concerns of hotels and giving something back to their industry according to Ms Whelan would be to ringfence some of the money to go toward hotels. She suggested helping fund training programmes in hotels for things like dementia or disability training for staff which would allow hotels to be more inclusive toward older people or those with additional needs.
Previously, Green Party Councillor Ray Cunningham suggested that public transport could be tied into a potential tourism tax, where visitors could be given a Leap Card-style pass to travel around the city for free during their stay. He stated this would not only align with the council's Active Travel goals, but would encourage tourists to expand their visit beyond the city centre.
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