John Brennan: 'A burger has to be €22 because 40% of that goes on wages'

Kenmare hotelier John Brennan who owns Dromquinna Manor. John and his brother, Francis, recently sold the Park Hotel and Lansdowne hotels in the popular Kerry tourist town. Picture: Don MacMonagle

One of the Brennan hotelier brothers said today that the price of doing business here is now "off the wall” when compared to other European countries.

In an interview, John Brennan said that the price of doing business is “off the wall” mainly due to "inflicted costs" by the Government.

Mr Brennan said that the February bank holiday “which no one wanted” took €25,000 off the bottom line of their three businesses last year.

He said that Ireland now has the second-highest minimum wage in Europe and the highest Vat rate in Western Europe at 13.5%.

"It is not fair to say ‘we were in a restaurant here and the burger cost €22'. It has to be €22 because 40% of the €22 goes on wages," he said. 

"We are not magicians — it is pure economics. 

"We had a Taoiseach a number of years ago talking about Ireland being the best small country in the world to do business in. 

I don’t know what happened to that train but it is well off track now.

"I don’t see any realisation in Government that adding costs to business is a dangerous thing to do."

He said that "the backbone of economic activity along the western seaboard is tourism and the money stays local”.

Mr Brennan along with his brother, Francis, recently sold their two hotels, The Park and the Lansdowne in Kenmare. However, John Brennan retains the nearby Dromquinna Manor which hosts around 55 events — mainly weddings — each year and the business also provides accommodation including glamping.

Profits

He made his remarks when commenting on new accounts for Dromquinna which show that it recorded post-tax profits of €164,792 in 2022.

Accounts for Cloud Nine Management Services Ltd show that the post-tax profits of €164,792 follow profits of €313,868 in 2021. At the end of 2022, the firm had accumulated profits of €1.38m and the business employed 29 people.

Mr Brennan said revenues for the business were down 4% in 2023 mainly due to the "atrocious and brutal” weather from last July which impacted food and beverage revenues at Drumquinna’s BoatHouse restaurant.

He said: "There are eight businesses in Dromquinna and they all do well towards the bottom line. I have no worries about Dromquinna — it is a fine business and now I have more time to concentrate on it."