A Killarney-based recruitment agency is to open offices in Sweden and Finland later this month in a drive to fill vacant positions in the tourism industry here.
Catering Recruitment Consultancy is opening its first overseas office in Stockholm on Friday week and its second in Helsinki a few days later.
Mr Denis Moylan, the company's chief executive, said it was becoming increasingly difficult to meet the staffing demands of hotels and restaurants. "Last year we brought in 600 people from Europe, which was twice what we brought in 1997, but I could have easily found places for 2,000.
"Whether we like it or not, by the year 2002 there will be more overseas people working in tourism here than Irish people." The development comes following reports last week that Irish workers were being offered special perks to take up jobs in Holland which local people had turned down. The issue is now being raised in the Dutch parliament.
Mr Moylan said the biggest demand for tourism staff was at the beginning and end of the summer, a consequence of the high dependency on student workers.
Using overseas agents, the company currently recruits staff from Germany, Spain, France and Norway. "They're all very well trained, sometimes more so than Irish staff. 90 per cent of them would have completed courses and might be looking for overseas experience."
At about £175£200 a week for a qualified waiter, and £12,500£14,000 a year for a qualified chef, the industry wages were often lower than overseas workers would get at home, he said. "However, they are compensated by the lower cost of living here."
He said the main obstacle to recruiting in Ireland was the image of the tourism industry as one of low pay and poor working conditions. "There are some rogue, poor employers in the country and until they are identified or blacklisted that reputation won't change."
Mr Moylan said his company planned to recruit workers in Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic next year.
