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IRISH HOTELS SHOULD not scalp European delegations who make bookings for the EU Presidency next year, according to Minister of State for European Affairs and Defence Thomas Byrne.
Ireland will take on the presidency between 1 July and 31 December 2026 and will host various formal and informal meetings of different Council bodies throughout that period.
The presidency of the Council of the European Union rotates among member states in turn every six months.
Ireland’s hosting of the presidency will be a huge operation, requiring a massive security presence, but will also provide a chance to showcase the country.
When asked by The Journal if the minister had any concerns about hotels ratcheting up prices during the period when key events are happening next year, Byrne said he hoped that wouldn’t be the case.
” I mean, this is a very important moment for Ireland Inc. The hotels will be part of that. They will be showing a welcome to key decision-makers around Europe, and indeed around the world.
I would certainly urge them to treat [delegates] with the respect that they will deserve, because it will have an impact on the perception of Ireland from a tourism point of view.
Although the minister said he doesn’t anticipate price gouging to happen, he added:
“It is certainly something that the industry needs to take account of.”
Byrne agreed that Ireland must be seen to be competitive and show that tourists can get good value here.
“People love coming to Ireland. I travel a lot. I meet lots of people. I really see almost, quite frankly, almost complete affection for Ireland. When you meet people, that’s the reality,” he said.
“We’ve all seen this around the world. We need to never take that for granted, and build on it and our tourism industry, and the welcome we give people is very much part of that.
“The government certainly will have a welcome on the mat, and it’s very important that other sectors of society do so as well.”
It is not the first time the hoteliers have been warned not to hike prices during key events. Prior to the budget this year, Enterprise Minister Peter Burke criticised hotels in Dublin for inflating prices whenever there are large events in the capital.
Byrne said that the public should be made aware that there will be disruptions when key events are taking place next year, particularly in Dublin, but he added that people should have a “sense of pride in Ireland Inc” when they see the country has “done a good job”.
“We’re going to host the European political community during our presidency, that’s the EU, plus another 20 countries. That’s going to be a massive event.
In fact, it will be the biggest event of its type ever held in Ireland.
He said security is going to be “pretty tight”, adding: “I can assure you of that.”
He went on to say that the six months of events and meetings next yer will enhance Ireland’s reputation abroad.
“That’s my expectation and my hope,” said Byrne.
For such a large-scale event, a number of venues are going to hold major markings, but there have been reports that it is proving difficult to find suitable locations for them.
Byrne said there are venues to host all the meetings, but any difficulties “will certainly be overcome”.
“I wouldn’t say we’re overflowing with venues that are needed for high-level events of this type, but we certainly have more than enough to do the job and to do the job well,” he added.
The number of journalists will certainly be in the “high hundreds for some of these meetings”, said Byrne, who added that officials’ security on top of that means “there’s a lot” of people expected to attend events in Ireland.
“We could have 5,000 people at the European political community event. We often get 5,000 people into Dublin, but 5,000 people at the level of security that the principles [country leaders] required is certainly unprecedented,” he said.
Byrne said many of the roughly 250 planned events will be held in Dublin, mainly due to cost, but added that he would like to see a quarter of the high-level ministerial meetings take place outside Dublin.
Since recent the visit of Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to Ireland and the drone incursions that accompanied his plan landing in Dublin, there has been talk about Ireland’s security and whether the country is prepared for other high-level events.
Byrne said security is a key concern of every European country at the moment, and that it’s especially a key concern of every country that takes on the EU presidency.
However, he said other countries that held the presidency like Denmark also experienced issues when EU leaders met, with that country’s airport closing for a time due to drone incursions.
“We’ve seen many other events of a similar nature around Europe. So of course, there are security considerations of the presidency, but I can assure you that they’re being taken very, very seriously,” he said.
He said the gardaí and the Defence Forces have been planning security arrangements for some time.
“It’s their job to secure the presidency and I’m absolutely confidence that they have that in hand,” he said.
“They’ve been looking at best practice elsewhere and fundamentally making sure that we will all be safe during the presidency,” Byrne said.
“But to think that we are immune from threat, I think would be unrealistic. But also to think that we’re uniquely vulnerable, I think, is completely wrong as well. I think any presidency would face the same threats,” he added.
When it comes to what Ireland’s priorities are for the EU presidency next year, he said they are currently working through the key priorities, but Byrne said the reality is, the priorities will be, to some extent, determined by what’s happening at the time.
One area that the Taoiseach said he will be speaking about next year is Ukraine’s proposed membership of the EU. Byrne said the matter came up at Dublin Airport when Zelenskyy landed for his visit.
“When I met President Zelenskyy with the Taoiseach, this was a point of conversation on the tarmac. So this is how deep this issue goes for everybody, including us,” he said.
Byrne added that Ireland is giving practical help and assistance in preparing Ukraine for the requirements of EU membership.
Since the fallout of Fianna Fáil’s disastrous presidential election, there has also been much speculation about the future leadership of Micheál Martin.
Byrne said Martin is “absolutely the person, the best person”, to lead Ireland up to and after the EU presidency.
He went on to say that there is no question of Martin’s experience at the top table and his relationships with the EU leaders.
“I think it is very, very important. He is a key voice in European discussions. And I think he is the Taoiseach, he was elected not even a year ago. And I certainly support him 150% to continue the work that he’s doing,” concluded Byrne.
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