Taoiseach Bertie Ahern said today that an orderly sale of the Great Southern Hotel group provided the best opportunity for the chain to reach its full potential.
The Taoiseach's remarks came as the Minister for Transport, Martin Cullen, said the nine hotels needed fresh investment of up to €80m.
RTE News has learned that the Great Southern directors felt they had no option but to agree to a sale process. The group is owned by the Dublin Airport Authority.
The directors took the step in an effort to protect themselves from facing possible accusations of engaging in reckless trading due to escalating losses. The hotel group lost €6m last year and that. That is expected to rise to €8m this year.
Meanwhile, the Taoiseach said he hopes 'most' of the nine hotels in the Great Southern Group will continue to operate as hotels. Speaking in the Dail, he said that when tourism was at an all time peak and the hotel group was still making a loss, the situation could not go on.
Labour leader Pat Rabbitte claimed that some of the hotels would be sold off to property developers, while the current highly skilled staff in the others will be replaced by low paid workers. He said that Fianna Fáil was being dictated to by the PDs, who wanted to put everything 'under the hammer.
Mr Ahern said the Government will work with the trade union movement and the workers to ensure the hotels, as far as possible, are sold as a going concern.
Tourism Minister John O'Donoghue told RTE radio this afternoon that although he had opposed a sale in the past, the Government had been presented with a 'fait accompli' and the priority now was to ensure that the hotels were sold as going concerns.
