Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)

I fully understand the importance of the Great Southern Hotels group, about which I have spoken to the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism. While I do not wish to pre-empt the business plans, I have met the people in Cork, Shannon and Dublin and there is great enthusiasm for what is happening. The opportunities that independence will bring to Shannon and Cork have been well greeted and they are up for the challenges.

The redistribution of the assets is a complex process. All the issues that filter into that must be dealt with. People have different perspectives on different aspects. I am anxious that the Great Southern Hotels group has a major future.

There are many factors that can make that happen, including the management and staff in the hotels. One of the difficulties at present is that the hotel group is losing substantial amounts of money. This is not sustainable for anybody, including the staff. It is not good from its perspective. Clearly, the restructuring process must involve a consideration of how we can maximise the benefit of the Great Southern Hotels group and return it to profit.

There has been considerable investment in tourism and hotels in recent years and there is no reason, therefore, that Great Southern Hotels should not be very profitable and to the fore in the industry. I would like to see this happen.

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