Cork Business Association says high costs are a huge factor for shops and restaurants closing their doors.
Most recently, Chinese restaurant Tung Sing announced it's closing it's Patrick Street branch.
Meanwhile, Naturally Nourished Café says it's been left with no other choice than to raise its prices due to inflation rates across the board.
Speaking on the Neil Prendeville Show, Kevin Herlihy from Cork Business Association says the cost of running a business is too high:
"It's not just the rates and the rent, it is the electricity costs, the wage costs. We're absolutely getting hammered by the fact that, and I know a lot of people would disagree with me, the minimum wage went from €11.30 to €12.70. And if you've got 20-25 people working for you, it's a chunk of change at the end of the week to come out of your bottom line".
