A country-based senator faces sleeping in his car for the next two to three weeks because he can’t get a hotel room.
Roscommon’s Eugene Murphy told the Irish Mirror that he has only been able to get a place to stay in Dublin on one night in the past three weeks.
And he can’t secure anywhere to stay for the next two or three weeks because of the chronic room shortage and exorbitant prices in the capital.
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The Fianna Fail senator has a 288km round trip to his home in Roscommon, so he fears he may have to sleep in his car if there is a late-night sitting of the Seanad.
Mr Murphy told the Mirror that he has slept in his car in a “petrol station carpark” twice in the past two months instead of driving back late at night.
He added: “I was going back on my records there and in the last three weeks I managed to get one night in Dublin, that was last Tuesday night – I drove home most of the other nights.
“And I asked the hotel about booking for this week and next week and they couldn’t take any bookings, and when I asked about the following week they said they couldn’t guarantee, but to come back.
“I’d stay anywhere to be honest, and I know there are people that are way worse off than me, but it’s just a sign of the times that there is no accommodation.” Mr Murphy’s home in Roscommon is 144km away from Leinster House.
Read more: Fianna Fail senator sleeps in car due to lack of Dublin hotel rooms
“This places him in band four for the generous Travel and Accommodation Allowance paid to politicians and he collects €25,169 a year under this heading in expenses. Taoiseach Micheal Martin was asked about the politicians sleeping in cars issue and he said he doesn’t believe it is a common occurrence.
Mr Martin said: “I don’t think it is a widespread phenomenon, to be frank about it.
“But clearly tourism has rebounded as we saw from figures this morning.
“There is always pressure in a city like Dublin in terms of accommodation but I don’t think there are too many TDs sleeping in cars.
“But there are pressures on accommodation, of that there is no doubt.”
Meanwhile, Housing Minister, Darragh O’Brien said that the glut of concerts, matches and other big events in Dublin over the summer is another reason politicians are finding it hard to get hotel rooms.
He added: “I haven’t had instances like this brought to me before.
“But people will regularly have difficulty getting accommodation as it comes into summer."
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