Mattie McGrath (Tipperary South, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Ar an gcéad dul síos, gabhaim buíochas leis an Cathaoirleach Gníomhach, an Teachta Ó Murchú, for allowing me to table this Topical Issue.

I am disappointed that neither the Minister for Justice nor the Minister for Education are here. I know the Minister of State, Deputy Higgins, has responsibility for procurement, so she might be able to answer me. I refer to the whole situation of the procurement of hotels throughout the country, but especially in Tipperary. Racket Hall in Roscrea and Dundrum House Hotel are landmarks and beacons of our tourism industry. The beautiful Kilcoran Lodge Hotel has been in operation for more than 125 years. There are wonderful staff there and I sympathise with them. There is Hearne Hotel in Clonmel of Charles Bianconi fame, who gave us our first transport system. Throughout Tipperary there are hotels for tourism. I think we had a 25% reduction in tourism figures and visitors in January. We had a 30% reduction in February. If this is not alarming to the Minister of State and to the Government, that is shocking. This has been moved from the Department of integration, which I welcome, to the Department of Justice but I cannot understand for the life of me why the Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan, has not had sight of it yet nor has the Minister of State, Deputy Brophy. I thank both of them for engaging with me.

I have tabled a Topical Issue but the Minister for Education, where it rests at the moment, is not here either. This is a shocking indictment of the democratic process and accountability in Dáil Éireann. None of them are here. The Minister of State, Deputy Higgins, has come in as the junior Minister. I mean no disrespect to her and wish her well but this is not good enough. I know the only area she has responsibility for is procurement.

I spoke of Kilcoran hotel. There is subterfuge there with shady owners. We did not know who owned it but we found out. The genie is out of the bottle. The owners, who have been flushed out, applied to Tipperary County Council for section 5. We know who they are and what they are, and what they want is a quick buck. They are not interested in the community.

Kilcoran hotel, like Dundrum House Hotel, has been home to so many christenings, first communions and confirmations. Indeed, the Minister of State, Deputy Brophy, told me that, as a buachaill óg, he was a page boy at the wedding of his late uncle and aunt, who is a member of the O'Brien family and is living in Ardfinnan, in the Kilcoran hotel. Dundrum hotel, which was owned by the Crowe family, is a magnificent resource, but it is riddled with court cases at the moment. There was a hearing yesterday involving the receiver. A shady owner, to put it mildly, has that as well. It is being contested and the Wennings from America, who own it, are trying to get him out of the place.

The communities are not able for this. There are no GP services. There are no transport services. Kilcoran is about 6 miles from Cahir and the parish of Ballylooby. It is a wonderful beacon with great staff and it is just off the motorway. It is a great location to improve our potential for visitor numbers in Tipperary and the fíorfháilte of the Tipperary people for anybody who visits wherever they come from. We are not anti-immigration, but it is reckless in the extreme to take over businesses of long standing, which have given employment and are a valuable resource to the county and to all who visit, without consultation.

I have had some engagement from Eibhlin Byrne from the engagement team, but there is no consultation. The Minister of State is in procurement. This telling of public representatives after a contract is signed is nothing short of scandalous, blackguarding and disrespectful of elected representatives who are trying to deal with the community. The communities there are good people. In Dundrum, they have been at the gates for 225 days or more. They are standing there, peacefully protesting - they are not anti. The Ukrainians were integrated and working, but the Government is turning it into an IPAS centre.

This is reckless endangerment of an industry and communities. The Minister of State has it in her own documentation that the demographics cannot be changed by more than 5% in an area with an IPAS centre. Dundrum is being changed by 125% because, according to the last census, there are just 220 people in the village and more than 280 people are being put in. Kilcoran is similar. It is a rural parish and area. It is a great community with great people. Where is the spirit of the Gael and ní neart go cur le chéile in the dividing the Government is doing? It is not fair either to the people who go in there. There is no transport, GP services or anything else.

I hope the Minister of State has a good answer for me because they want answers off me, and I am looking for answers off her.

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