Change in owners sparks confusion for refugees in East Cork hotel

Local representatives in Youghal have been unable to identify the current owners of the Quality Hotel, which is currently hosting Ukrainian families

The Quality Hotel, Youghal, has hosted Ukrainian families since April 2022.

Confusion surrounds the ownership of a hotel in Youghal which has been hosting refugees of the Ukraine-Russia conflict for nearly three years.

The Quality Hotel in the East Cork seaside town has hosted Ukrainian families since April 2022, when its then owners announced that the hotel had changed hands.

The 25-bedroom hotel ceased taking reservations from the public in early 2022. 

Earlier this year, the Ukrainian residents of the hotel were told they would shortly have to vacate the location in order to be accommodated elsewhere.

It is understood that in ceasing the accommodation for those Ukrainians, who were categorised as “beneficiaries of temporary protection”, the hotel would have subsequently hosted applicants for international protection. 

The removal of the Ukrainians was put on hold in late January by the Department of Integration following outcry locally on behalf of the 450 residents — including close to 150 children — who would have been displaced at short notice, a proposal described at the time as “inhumane” by local school principal Eoghan Rua O’Neill.

It is as yet unclear how long that temporary stay will last, although the opinion among the Ukrainian residents is that their accommodation will cease to be available after the current school term ends in June.

Before the change of use of the hotel was put on hold, the department said the “provider at this site had expressed an interest in providing accommodation for international protection applicants following the end of the beneficiaries of temporary protection contract”.

However, despite reports the building was acquired in April 2022, various sources and local representatives in the area have been unable to identify the current owners of the Quality Hotel.

The official land registry record for the hotel notes the building was first acquired, from the National Asset Management Agency, in June 2015 by a Swiftcastle Limited.

First built around 2004, the hotel was placed for sale in 2014 by property agents Savills at a guide price of €450,000.

Allen McEnery, the manager of the hotel pre-2022, is a director of Swiftcastle (Youghal) Unlimited.

Mr McEnery, who it is understood is still involved in the day-to-day running of the Quality Hotel centre, did not respond to requests for comment.

While no change in ownership is listed for the Quality Hotel or its attached Club Vitae leisure centre, official records detail a number of changes in the mortgage provider behind the properties — the most recent of which saw the charge over the buildings switch to a British-based loan finance company in July 2023.

The State’s budget for housing Ukrainian refugees has been slashed for this year by close to 60% from its 2023 figure, down from €1.1bn two years ago to €456m.

The average cost to the State of accommodating individual asylum seekers has risen by nearly 50% over the past two years, according to figures obtained by the Irish Examiner.

The cost to house international protection applicants rose from €57 a day in 2022 to €84 in 2024, the Department of Integration said.

There are nearly 33,000 international protection applicants accommodated across Ireland.