A MONAGHAN TD is calling on “all necessary State agencies” to examine the operations of a local hotel where staff recently held a sit-in protest in a dispute over wages.

Sinn Féin’s Matt Carthy raised the issue of the Nuremore Hotel & Country Club in Leaders’ Questions in the Dáil on Thursday and told The Journal “this requires a robust response from government”.

While Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien said he “didn’t know the background”, he said the government would “certainly look into it” and added: “Where workers are due pay, they should be paid”. 

The situation at Nuremore Hotel in Co Monaghan is very concerning.
For several months I have tried to engage with the management and owner of the hotel - but the issues are now so unsettling that today I raised them in the Dáil. pic.twitter.com/ZHla4Oi3z0

— Matt Carthy TD (@mattcarthy) February 9, 2023

Last December, staff at the Nuremore Hotel & Country Club staged a sit-in protest due to wages allegedly not being paid on time.

Staff said the issue had been “going on for months and months” but hotel management said this was due to an issue outside of its control.

The hotel was acquired in February 2020 by the Kylin Prime Group, an investment firm founded by Chinese entrepreneur Kai Dai.

Dai also founded Huawen Foundation, a cash-for-visa firm which offers investors an opportunity to avail of Irish residency under a government scheme called the immigrant investment programme.

In a statement to The Journal following December’s sit-in protest, management of the hotel said: “The Nuremore Hotel was acquired by the present owners in February 2020 just as the pandemic occurred.

“As a result of Covid restrictions, we postponed refurbishment works including to our bedrooms, the reception and lounge areas.

“These necessary works are now due to take place from January to March so that we are in a position to accommodate guests during the busy tourist season this spring and summer. Our Leisure Centre and Golf Course will, however, remain open during this time.

“Unfortunately the refurbishment will involve temporary lay-offs for employees in the affected areas, and we have been in discussions with those involved.”

However, staff and Deputy Carthy say no renovation works have taken place.

Carthy told the Dáil this week that “there is no evidence of any works commencing”.

The Leisure Centre, which was due to remain open, has also closed.

Utility Bills

Speaking this week during Leaders’ Questions in the Dáil, Deputy Carthy claimed that the hotel has not been paying its utility bills and this is why the leisure centre has closed.

He told the Dáil: “The leisure centre, which was supposed to remain operational, has now closed down because company didn’t pay its energy bills.”

While most staff were placed on 12 week temporary leave, Carthy said that leisure centre staff who had been left in place have gone several weeks without pay.

In a post on Facebook on 30 January, the hotel informed the public that “swimming lessons for kids are fully booked”.

However, on 2 February a post said that “low temperature in the pool” meant swimming lessons were cancelled.

On Wednesday, the hotel confirmed that “due to circumstances outside of Management control the Leisure Centre will be closed until further notice”.

“This situation is totally out of management control,” read a post a day later.

Carthy told The Journal: “There’s serious questions in terms of how the hotel is operating, there are serious questions in terms of how you can have a situation where staff go without pay, and we have serious questions in terms of how up until a number of days ago, there are people who were paying for membership fees or swimming lessons in the leisure centre.

“Obviously they have questions in terms of the security of their money now, so this is a very concerning situation from multiple different viewpoints.”

‘Absence of clarity’

There have been some rumours locally that the Nuremore Hotel is set to become an accommodation centre for asylum seekers.

However, Deputy Carthy told The Journal that he has heard no such plans.

“There are concerns locally that the hotel might not continue operating or return to operate as a commercial hotel and clearly it needs to operate as such,” said Carthy.

“And in the absence of clarity, there will be speculation. I have been told that there are no plans and there have been no engagements in relation to using the hotel to house international asylum seekers.

“But at the same time, the speculation is going to continue until such stage as there is clarity provided to the local community, and to the workers especially.”

In a statement on Facebook yesterday, the Nuremore Hotel also sought to dispell these rumours: “We are releasing this statement in a hope it will put to rest all the fear and anger within the community. The Nuremore Hotel has no plans to become part of the ongoing Direct Provision process.

Immigrant Investment Programme

The hotel was purchased by Kai Dai in 2020, who also founded a cash-for-visa firm which offers investors an opportunity to avail of Irish residency under the immigrant investment programme.

Carthy says this turns the issue from one of local to national importance.

“We have to get some answers in respect of what oversight is in place for businesses that are operating under the benefit of the immigrant investor program, because this is a national scheme.

“This is a provision that has been made to allow people that wouldn’t otherwise be in a position to reside in Ireland to do so.

“That is why I’ve asked the government for all necessary state agencies to take control of the situation.”

Deputy Carthy added: “They can’t just allow people to have residency on the basis that they make an investment, if that investment then isn’t managed in an appropriate way.

“They can’t have a situation where they’re facilitating wealthy investors to come into the country, but then wash their hands of how those investments are actually operating.”

Carthy also warned that the State could be “on the hook” over the issue.

“If it goes in the wrong trajectory, we could see a position where the State is on the hook in terms of an insolvency and redundancy package.

“This is something that could end up being a substantial cost to the taxpayer as opposed to being a benefit to our economy and that’s why I think we need to see ordered action on the part of government.

“That means the Departments specifically involved need to carry out a robust review of the Nuremore Hotel and its operation, but also the wider investment investor program more generally.”

Carthy has asked the Public Accounts Committee to make initial inquiries and added that he will be using his position on that body to “make inquiries of all the relevant departments in terms of their role”.

“If it’s a case that there’s a state agency or department that isn’t being robust enough in terms of the oversight of this situation,” said Carthy, “then I would suspect the Public Accounts Committee will agree to hold a hearing on it.”

‘Bedrock’

Carthy told The Journal that “it’s hard to overstate just how important the hotel has been to the local economy”.

“The hotel traditionally has been a bedrock, it has been almost a tourist institution in its own right.

“It hosted the Ireland soccer team when they were at the height of their popularity during the Jack Charlton era.”

He warned that this type of business is vital to Carrickmacross and wider south Monaghan area and added: “No stone can be left unturned to make sure that we get the hotel returned to being an operational, functional, commercial hotel and leisure Centre as quickly as possible.”

Staff are currently engaged with the SIPTU trade union, but Carthy said there “needs to be engagement with Workplace Relations Commission” also.

SIPTU members employed in the hotel held a general meeting on 25 Wednesday January and SIPTU reps said workers at this meeting “expressed anger with their employer over outstanding wages, which includes holiday pay, due to them”.

“The workers received written notice of a 12 week period of layoff prior to Christmas,” said SIPTU organiser Claire O’Connor.

“Management is claiming that this is to allow for the refurbishment of the hotel. However, after more than three weeks there is little sign of any work taking place.” 

Following this meeting, SIPTU sector organiser John Regan said: “This situation, along with the lack of communications or updates concerning the refurbishment work, and prior to this no contact for several months before the layoffs from the owners of the hotel, has caused our members great distress.

“The owners must engage with our members immediately on the payment of their outstanding wages, as well as the future of the hotel and their employment.”

The Nuremore Hotel has been approached for comment.