FIGURES FOR IRELAND’S hotel industry from July suggest that room rates in Dublin are continuing to rise at a rapid rate.

According to industry analytics specialists STR the price of a room in Dublin was up 19% in July from a year previously. The year-on-year price in July 2015 was likewise up 28% over the previous 12 months.

Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland this morning, former Labour minister and TD Joe Costello described the prices being seen as “exorbitant”, and used the rates being seen during last November’s Dublin Web Summit as an example of the excessive prices being charged.

“It’s clear that prices are going through the roof – tourism is up, occupancy is up, and bed prices are up,” he said.

The industry needs to be careful, it should not behave the way so many other industries behaved during the Celtic Tiger years.

But what do you think, is the point a valid one?

We’re asking: Are Dublin hotel rooms over-priced?