Robbie Gallagher (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Minister is very welcome to the Chamber this afternoon. A number of years ago the Nuremore Hotel and Country Club in Carrickmacross hit the headlines for hosting Mr. Jack Charlton and the Irish soccer team back in the heady days of the successful Irish soccer teams we used to have. Hopefully, it will not be long before we have such days again. Unfortunately, today the hotel is hitting the headlines for more negative reasons. Central to the local economy of Carrickmacross and regional tourism generation for many years, the venue was purchased by the Kylin Prime Group, an investment firm founded by Chinese entrepreneur Mr. Kai Dai who is one the biggest cash-for-visa brokers and has benefited from the immigrant investor programme, IIP. Mr. Dai founded the Huawen Foundation, a cash-for-visa firm that offers investors an opportunity to avail of Irish residency under the IIP.

In Carrickmacross, hopes were high with regard to the expected investment in the hotel but, unfortunately, no such investment has taken place to date. More seriously, last December, staff staged a sit-in protest because their wages were not being paid on time. They claimed that the issue had been going on for a month but hotel management said that this was due to an issue outside of its control. On 1 January, most of the staff were placed on a temporary 12-week lay off, allegedly to allow renovations to take place. So far, there is no sign of any work taking place. The leisure centre and golf club, which were expected to remain operational, have now closed, leaving members out of pocket. The electricity and gas have apparently been disconnected. SIPTU indicates that the hotel appears to have been closed down and claims that the company is endeavouring to force workers into terminating their own employment by way of redundancy. The avenue for communication with workers appears to have completely shut down, which is very worrying indeed.

The IIP is supposed to bring investment into the State. It soared in popularity in recent years, particularly in 2022, with the number of would-be investors from all countries hitting a record of 812, nearly twice the record set in 2021. The programme should be a win-win for the State. Since 2012, more than 1,500 applications have been approved, with investment valued at in excess of €1 billion. Unfortunately, the experience at the Nuremore Hotel has not been positive. It may be an isolated case but it clearly deserves attention. I spoke to the workers again last week. My heart goes out to them because they are owed three weeks' wages and they are totally insecure as to what the future might hold for them. I am sure the Minister would agree that this situation needs to be resolved.I would welcome the Minister's comments this afternoon.