10,000 job losses as numbers of visitors falls

Since last Christmas 10,000 people have lost their jobs and that figure is expected to rise as the tourism sector reels from the impact of September 11 and the foot-and-mouth crisis.

Bord Fáilte has just confirmed that the number of tourists fell by one million. This will shave £306m off expected tourism earnings for 2001, leaving the exchequer £114m worse off.