A total of 14 tourism businesses whose trade suffered because of the use of hotels for refugees have said they were short-changed in a Fáilte Ireland grant scheme, it has emerged, writes Ken Murray.
Only €200,000, or 10%, of a €2m Fáilte Ireland grant, which was intended to directly help tourism businesses hit by bed shortages in their areas, has been paid out.
The money was made available for businesses in areas where more than 15% of accommodation was being used to support refugees from Ukraine.
The chief executive of the Restaurants Association of Ireland, Adrian Cummins, told the This Week programme on RTÉ Radio 1 yesterday that he believes pubs, cafés and restaurants should have been allowed to apply for the Fáilte Ireland grant.
“This is a prime example of a scheme that was designed not to work and not to help those businesses in need in terms of the original issue that …