A Co Kerry guesthouse operated by a firm owned by independent Kerry TD, Michael Healy-Rae has received €917,970 (all figures incl VAT) for accommodating Ukrainians to date, new figures show.
New quarterly figures published by the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth show that Deputy Healy Rae’s Rosemount Guest House received €151,320 for the first quarter of this year and this is in addition to the €766,650 the guest house has received in the prior five quarters for accommodating Ukrainians.
In 2022, Kerry Co Council refused planning permission to Deputy Healy Rae’s Roughty Properties Ltd's application for a three-storey extension to expand guest capacity at Rosemount Guest House.
The €114,680 paid out to Deputy Healy Rae’s Rosemount was part of a €213.44 million pay out to accommodation providers accommodating Ukrainians between January 1st and March 31st this year. Deputy Healy Rae’s office has been contacted for comment.
Payments to those accommodating Ukrainians were down €10.97 million or 5 per cent on the corresponding period last year.
However, payments to those accommodating International Protection (IP) applicants soared by €75.5 million or 54 per cent year-on-year to €214.94 million as the system reached breaking point in efforts trying to accommodate the growing number of IP applicants arriving into Ireland.
The overall bill for accommodating Ukrainians and IP applicants for the first three months of this year totals €428.34 million - of €4.7 million per day - which is a 18 per cent increase on the €363.7 million paid out for the first quarter of last year.
The detailed figures show that the owner of the country’s largest hotel, Citywest, the Tetrarch Capital Group owned Cape Wrath Hotel UC in west Dublin received €16.76 million to accommodate Ukrainians and IP applicants for the first three months of this year, with the bulk of the payments at €12.7 million for providing accommodation to Ukrainians.
This follows the firm receiving €53.7 million for 2023 to provide board and accommodation to Ukrainians and IP applicants.
Earlier this year, Total Experience Limited, trading as Pastures New Accommodation, secured a temporary High Court order restraining protesters from blocking the entrances to a site where it was constructing emergency accommodation facilities for hundreds of Ukrainian refugees at Newhall, Naas, Co Kildare.
The new figures show that the company received one of the highest payments in the first quarter, where Total Experience Ltd received €7.7 million for accommodating Ukrainians.
Plans to accommodate IP applicants at the D Hotel in Drogheda have also been a source of controversy and the new figures show that the move has been a lucrative one for the owners, receiving payments of €1.52 million for the first quarter.
The figures show that Tirawley Ltd trading at Breaffy House Resort in Co Mayo received €3.2 million in the first quarter for accommodating Ukrainians and IP applicants.
The figures also show a company controlled by former Monaghan GAA football manager, Seamus ‘Banty’ McEnaney, Brimwood UC received €5.6 million for the first quarter, in addition to the €30 million it received in 2023.
Brimwood UC has unlimited company status and is not required to file annual accounts with the Companies Office showing the level of profit it enjoys.
The figures show that Travelodge Hotels has received €11.18m for the first quarter in addition to the €25 million it received in 2023.
The figures show that the businesses of other major hotel operators continued to flourish.
Holiday Inn Dublin Airport received €10.3 million for the first three months while Red Cow Hotel operator, Guestford Ltd received €9.4 million.
The housing of IP applicants at Magowna House at Inch in Co Clare was another flashpoint last year when locals erected blockades on local roads.
The new figures show that the operator of the centre for IP applicants at Magowna House, Cork firm CRM Properties Ltd received €3.2 million for housing Ukrainians and IP applicants in the first quarter made up of €2.59 million for accommodating Ukrainians and €706,000 for accommodating IP applicants.
Next Week and Co Ltd which operates an emergency reception and orientation centre in Co Roscommon and emergency accommodation in a hotel in Co Cork and at another location in Co Kildare, received €5.8 million during the first quarter.
Gordon Deegan
Keep up to date with all the latest news on our website, Beat102103.com.
