Senator Robbie Gallagher has raised the issue of staff being left in limbo at the Nuremore Hotel and Country Club with the Minister for Justice Simon Harris yesterday.
The local senator told the Justice Minister that staff haven't been paid on time and many of the staff have been put on temporary layoff. The hotel is owned by Mr Kai Dai, who is an investor operating under the now-defunct Immigrant Investor Programme. The immigrant investor program closed this evening to new applicants of the scheme.
The leisure centre and golf club, which were expected to remain operational, have now closed, leaving members out of pocket and electricity and gas have apparently been disconnected according to the Monaghan Senator. Senator Gallagher met with the staff at the hotel in recent days and says they have real concerns about their future at the Carrickmacrosss hotel.
Senator Gallagher was speaking in the Seanad and said, "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 layoff, 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."
"What is happening is very disappointing. The people of Carrickmacross would like to see this hotel back to its former glory. It would appear to have been going very well and this has come as a bombshell, not just to the workers but to the local economy and the wider region, which depend on this facility for employment and to attract visitors," added Senator Gallagher.
