Love Drogheda Business Improvement District are hugely disappointed in the decision that has been taken by the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth to confirm the removal of the d Hotel as Visitor Accommodation from the town centre of Drogheda. This decision lacks any basis in strategic, long-term thinking and will have long-lasting consequences on the tourism, hospitality, and retail sector of the town.
The lack of transparency in the decision-making process is particularly troubling. From a business perspective, we have questioned the removal of the largest visitor accommodation in the town and whether any economic impact analysis had been undertaken. In addition, we note that the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth are also removing the only fully wheelchair accessible hotel in the town centre of Drogheda. Whilst dual use was being investigated it left the opportunity for the town to continue to offer this accommodation, that has now been removed, and further limits accessible visitor options and underlines the lack of analysis undertaken in the decision making process.
Over the last month we have worked in collaboration with our colleagues in Drogheda Chamber of Commerce, our TDs and local political representatives to relay the potential economic impact this decision will have and how long lasting the consequences of the same decision may be. We have engaged in three meetings with key government officials, including Minister O'Gorman, Minister Humphreys, Minister McEntee, and the Taoiseach, to ensure that there was full awareness of the potential economic impact related to this decision. Despite our efforts, on March 9th, we received correspondence from the Minister stating that dual use is not viable, thus removing a valuable piece of tourism infrastructure from the town and region.
This unilateral decision has significant implications for Drogheda damaging our ability to provide overnight accommodation to support the growth of some of our hugely popular festivals and events that have evolved over the last number of years. Since our inception in 2020 Love Drogheda BID have worked with a wide breadth of tourism & arts related stakeholders and partners to successfully grow the tourism product in the town by creating new festivals and experiences such as the Drogheda Mural Trail, Boyne Valley Trails, Lu Festival of Light and the Drogheda Comedy Festival. These festivals are targeted at times of the year that are slightly off peak to support local business, the arts and the established golf, horse racing and outdoor activity events in the region. The Department for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, having been provided with information and statistics, failed to weigh the consequences, and have moved forward with the decision to remove visitor accommodation in favour of providing contracted accommodation.
Over the past number of years, we have seen the positive impact investment in the tourism sector can make with Failte Ireland investing approximately €1.8million in projects that have helped to activate, grow visitor numbers and build awareness of the wonderful tourism assets that Drogheda and the Boyne Valley Region have to offer the visitor, in addition to the funding committed to purchase and develop a New National Park on our doorstep and the investment in Oldbridge Estate we are on the cusp of creating a truly worthwhile visitor destination but we are being left without the capacity to take advantage of overnight visitor stays.
As a business community, we have submitted numerous requests to Minister O’Gorman and are continuing to seek answers from the Department of Children, Equality ,Disability, Integration and Youth on the following;
· Clarity on the methodology applied in the decision-making process when entering a contract with an Accommodation Provider.
· That an Economic Impact Assessment be carried out when assessing offers of accommodation when they are operating as visitor accommodation
· A cap/ quota on any visitor accommodation removal to ensure sustainability and stability of local economies.
· A reduction in the rate paid to accommodation providers to curb speculation which is damaging the tourism sector.
· Engagement with the Department of Tourism and Department of Housing and Local Government to prevent disproportionate levels of accommodation removal in any one area.
· A commitment from the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth to not automatically renewing temporary contracts of accommodation that had previously been used as visitor accommodation. This will help re introduce visitor accommodation back into local economies.
· Reduction in duration of temporary accommodation contracts from 2 years, i.e create temporary contracts that are short in nature (6 months).
Love Drogheda Business Improvement District are now urging the government to engage in transparent discussions with local community representatives to find sustainable solutions for the benefit of Drogheda. Due to the disproportionate impact and removal of visitor accommodation we are asking the Government to meet to discuss and develop a package of supports that will help mitigate and minimise the impact of this decision and to create an opportunity for the development of new accommodation, appropriate coach parking facilities and create opportunities for Motorhome space provision to allow access of mobile visitors to the town and district. We need immediate dedicated and targeted Government support that can help revitalize and regenerate the town of Drogheda. As a town of 40,000 + residents, we are calling on the government to find a workable solution to provide accessible rooms in Drogheda town centre as a matter of urgency.
Quick supplementary notes:
Drogheda currently has five hotels in the town and surrounding areas, with one already contracted out.
The Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth has signed a contract, removing up to 89% of bed capacity from the town centre and 69%of hotel visitor accommodation from the Drogheda district and environs.
The contract in place provides accommodation for up to 500 people in a 113-bedroom hotel.
The value of the contract is €78.60 per person, per night, amounting to over €14 million per year.
A 113 bedroom hotel operating at full capacity with a per room rate of €160 per night would cost/ generate over €6.5 million per annum. The reliance on the private sector to provide temporary accommodation should be called into question due to a lack of value for money or social return on investment to wider community.
