Call for state buildings to plug Dublin hotel gap

TOURISM bosses yesterday expressed concern about a decline in the number of hotel rooms in Dublin city centre and called on the Government to consider making available the use of state buildings to counteract the problem.

Fáilte Ireland chief executive Shaun Quinn said there was some worry within the industry that there was an inadequate number of four-star hotels in the capital given the planned opening of the National Conference Centre in 2010.

However, Mr Quinn stressed that his comments were not made specifically in the context of recent high-profile closures of several well-known hotels on the southside of the city.