Taoiseach Bertie Ahern said today the best opportunity for the Great Southern Hotel chain is for it to be sold as a "going concern" as group losses reach €6 million.
The chain is valued at around €100 million and employs nearly 800 people.
Speaking in the Dáil today, the Mr Ahern, said that the group is "not going anywhere they need to go" and that at this stage the "orderly disposal of the hotels as a going concern offers the best opportunity for the hotels in reaching their full potential in a niche market".
Joe O'Flynn, Siptu general secretary
The Labour Party leader Pat Rabbitte who raised the issue with the Taoiseach said it was a bad day for tourism.
"If the argument is that they ought to be replaced by cheaper staff and some of the hotels sold off for property speculation that is quite frankly a disgrace," Mr Rabbitte said.
However the Taoiseach said that the hotels lost in the region of €6 million at a time when the highest number of tourists ever had visited the country.
"The important issues now are to engage with the staff and with the staff interests and to try and deal with these as a going concern to keep them as hotels in so far as possible, to keep as many employed, if not extend the employment," Mr Ahern added.
However, the General Secretary of Siptu Joe O'Flynn said he was outraged at the decision by the board of the hotel group to engage advisors to assist in the disposal of the group's assets.
"The Great Southern Hotel Group is the flagship of the hotel industry in Ireland. The service the hotels receive from employees is exceptional and Siptu will not stand by and let 800 decent jobs go," Mr O'Flynn said.
"This decision could have serious implications for Siptu's continued participation in the so-called partnership talks," he added.
