Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Taoiseach is meeting shortly with the business community in Drogheda to discuss the economic impact of the loss of the D Hotel and €21 million to the local economy. The people of Drogheda remain extremely angry at this decision. The Government needs to intervene and have a package for the tourists and businesses in our town. We need a moratorium on tourist accommodation being provided in the future in Drogheda for applicants under the IPAS, or International Protection Accommodation Services, and the beneficiaries of temporary protection, BOTP, scheme. We also need a ban on the use of ground-floor retail for this purpose. We are losing a major pub, which cost over €2 million to refurbish recently and is applying for IPAS accreditation. Business people in Drogheda are up in arms and very concerned about this.

The Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, signed an agreement with the D Hotel for 500 beds for two years. Last week, the fire certificate for the building issued at last and it was for 465 beds. This means the greedy developers who own the hotel will have an additional €2 million in their back pocket as a result of beds that the Minister signed up for but which can never be filled because they can never be put into the hotel. The Minister's policy is a shambles in our town.

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