Trump sees twice as many jobs in Doonbeg future

Donald Trump can envisage employing twice as many people during the peak season once Trump International Golf Links And Hotel Ireland is fully up and running.

The American billionaire also said that the "comeback" he expects in Ireland in the coming years was crucial to his decision to invest in the West Clare resort.

At a cost of €15m, Trump believes that he has secured a scarcely believable bargain in landing a course he estimates has seen a €300m investment to date.

"There will be more jobs than they’ve ever had before; more importantly the people that have their jobs will keep them.

"Ireland is really ready for a big comeback, I know they’ve been through hell. I have a lot of friends in New York at the highest level of finance and they’ve their eye on Ireland," the entrepreneur told Sean O’ Rourke.

"I think it’s one of the great golf hotels there is anywhere in Europe. You could never replicate it. I was really happy I was able to buy it," he added.

Trump, who is on a three-day visit to Ireland, outlined some of his plans for the course which include the building of a new ballroom and re-shaping the golf course.

The property mogul said that the owners of the course had previously been unable to use the land appropriately due to concerns for a microscopic snail.

"We’re going to re-shape it, we’re going to do various things - some very significant - and we think we’ve a chance to make it one of the great golf courses in the world.

"You have to be able to use the land appropriately. They thought [the snail] was just on the site, it’s all up and down the coast, it’s all over the world.

"[The environmentalists] want to see us build one of the greatest courses in the world," he said.

When challenged on commitments made but not yet delivered on another course in Aberdeen in Scotland, Trump said that his failure to deliver the number of jobs he had promised was down to government decision-making.

The Scottish government’s decision to build a major 11-turbine windfarm two miles from the resort, over which Trump took legal action, was behind his reason for re-focusing his attention to the Atlantic coast of Ireland.

"It’s their fault and they understand that," he said, adding: "We built one of the greatest golf courses ever built...the government came out and said 'we’re going to build these massive wind turbines in the bay'. They told me they would not do that."

The Doonbeg course is a "troubled" resort that he will make viable again, he also said.

According to its new owner, the land he has purchased is the best he has seen anywhere in the world.

"This was a resort that was in big trouble...we will make this resort very viable.

"This piece of land is as good as any piece of land I’ve seen anywhere in the world... I’ve bought a masterpiece of land."