HOSPITALITY IN A ‘DOOM SPIRAL’
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tion as a tourism and foodie destination but it’s being eroded by the government. A total of 250,000 people work in hospitality — we are the backbone of this economy and we’re just being cast aside.”
Eimear Killian runs the 50-seater Builín Blasta Cafe & Bakery in the Spiddal Craft Village in Connemara, Co. Galway.
“The only hotel here operating as one is the Connemara Coast – all the other hotels are taken up with refugee residents,” she says. The domestic market has dropped off a lot.
“It’s hard to compete on a tourist market – we’re going to be looked at as very expensive. We’ve had to put up prices and there’s a backlash.
“Our costs have skyrocketed with wages, VAT, electricity still hasn’t come down, bread, flour and milk, our staples, doubled in price – our margins are being squeezed every way.”
She added: “For rural areas any cafe or restaurant is part of the fabric of the community and closures have a huge impact on Mary down the road who comes in to meet her friends or people working from home and students making pocket money for college.”
Anthony says: “We’ll see massive youth unemployment — I’ve created hundreds of jobs in Sligo but I don’t think I’ll be able to keep them.”
Eimear agrees, adding: “We employ 16 staff locally, people who feed their families. The Government applaud big companies but all the little businesses keep rural Ireland going.
“Tourists want to go into the local bar or bakery to meet local people, they want to talk and we’re giving tips where to go — it’s an ecosystem.”
Adrian Commins echoed the restaurateurs, saying: “It’s going to be very bleak for tourists trying to find places open for dinner or lunch in certain parts of the country this summer.
“We desperately need the 9 per cent VAT rate restored to make establishments viable.
“It’s a massive problem.”
Meanwhile, Anthony was keen to
stress he supports helping refugees in crisis: “Nobody wants to flee a wartorn country and be flung into a hotel room to raise a family.”
Gina Murphy, who runs Hugo’s, on Merrion Row, beside the Dail in Dublin, says she hopes the summer tourists will give them a boost.
My crew of 26 full-time staff are in tune with what we have to do and are on board with making prudent decisions that protect everyone.
“We run a tight ship run by a tight crew.
“We’re holding our own, but it’s difficult for everyone.“
For rural areas, cafes are part of the fabric of the community EIMEAR KILLIAN
CAFE OWNER IN GALWAY