Hoteliers demand greater flexibility from banks

Date Published: 05-Mar-2009

THE Galway branch of the Irish Hotels Federation has called on Irish banks to deliver on their obligations under the Government recapitalisation scheme and immediately increase the flow of lending to small and medium enterprises.

Paul Gill, Chairman of the Galway branch of the IHF, highlighted the lack of funding and stated that action taken by the Government has so far failed to deliver for the hotel sector any significant increase in credit facilities.

Figures just issued by the Central Bank reveal that the total bank debt to the hotel and restaurant sector at the end of 2008 was 2.9% less than at the end of 2007. This figure confirms the feedback from IHF members throughout the country who are experiencing the potentially disastrous situation of additional working capital not being available.

And Mr Gill, owner of the Claregalway Hotel, insisted that extra…