Hoteliers hosting Ukrainian refugees that are currently owed six-figure sums by the State have warned that if payment delays are not immediately addressed, many in the sector will let contracts lapse next month when they come up for renewal.
This week, the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth confirmed to RTÉ's News at One that it owes hundreds of hotels, hostels and B&Bs owners €41 million in unpaid bills.
Michael Brophy, who runs a guesthouse in Co Kilkenny, is one of them.
As of today, he is owed a six-figure sum for four months' worth of payments for providing accommodation, food and laundry to his 27 Ukrainian residents.
They are his only guests, and payments for their stay are his guesthouse's only income.
"It's devastating really" Mr Brophy said.
"We have all our expenses with the wholesalers, we have our expenses with oil, we have our expenses with electricity. All our own funds at this stage are almost depleted at this stage.
"Our Christmas was terrible here, we had to get oil from a different company because we owed (our normal supply) company, we couldn't get it from them.
"Our wholesalers understand the situation and they are being very good to us, but other than that it has been very very difficult."
"I think it's putting a massive strain on this industry, and we already went through a bad period"
Mr Brophy said that a family member and a neighbour have offered him financial help, both of which he has refused for now, but he has had to take out a loan from a bank.
Like many in the sector accommodating Ukrainian refugees, Mr Brophy's current contract expires next month, and new contracts will be issued.
He believes that many will face a difficult choice in March if the delays in issuing payments continue.
"I like to see the people that are here happy, but I still have to keep my business running and if I'm not going to be in a position to keep it running then I have no alternative but to discontinue," Mr Brophy said.
"I think it's putting a massive strain on this industry, and we already went through a bad period (during the pandemic).
"Lots of hoteliers and people I've been speaking with are not going to continue their contracts."
He added that this would "be a disaster for the Government".
In Bray Co Wicklow, Lorraine Sweeney has been hosting Ukrainians in her Wilton Hotel since March.
Ms Sweeney and her staff have managed to effectively split her hotel in two, accommodating paying guests in one part of the building, and 140 Ukrainians fleeing the war in another.
She too is waiting months for payment from the State.
"There is a considerable six-figure sum due to us since last October, so it will be close to five months since we got paid," Ms Sweeney told RTÉ News.
"We're lucky ... that we have income coming from the other side of the house that people pay as they arrive, or pay in advance, so that allows us the cash flow, but if we totally dedicated to only Ukrainian guests there is no way this business could survive waiting five months," Ms Sweeney said.
She too is worried that if the payments problem is not fixed, many in the sector, particularly those who do not have other income streams, will pivot back to tourism in March.
"I think the Minister (Roderic O'Gorman) has enough challenges finding enough accommodation now, if he doesn't treat this as very very serious and bring people up to date in payments, he'll have a major problem on his hands because he won't have anywhere for people to stay," Ms Sweeney said.
In Clare, Senator Martin Conway said he has been contacted by hoteliers in the county and beyond who have not been paid since September.
"There are people owed hundreds of thousands of euros and I have one person in contact with me that is owed in excess of a million euros at this stage," Mr Conway said.
"Some of them are on the brink of going out of business," Mr Conway said. "Many of them are seriously considering not renewing their contracts to the department."
"It is completely and totally unacceptable that after almost a year of the Ukrainian crisis happening that the Department of Children still haven't tooled up their payments structure to make sure that people are getting paid in a timely fashion," Mr Conway said.
According to the department, more than 700 hotels, hostels and B&Bs are providing accommodation to Ukrainians, and they generate "approximately 150 invoices per week".
"We regret any delays in making payments and are affording this issue very high priority," a spokesperson said.
"In line with Minister O’Gorman’s commitment to clear the backlog at the end of 2022, (the department) temporarily re-assigned staff from other parts of the department to the payments team in December, doubling the size of the payments unit," the spokesperson said, adding that "the enlarged team approved more than €100 million worth of payments".
"If somebody was in this position, in my position, in their normal everyday job and they weren't getting paid for three or four months, I don't think they'd stay in their position."
Having reviewed this "exercise" the spokesperson said that it had "sought and received sanction for a permanent increase in the size of the payments unit", while also "introducing other measures to make processing more efficient".
However, the spokesperson acknowledged that "for the moment, staff shortages mean that there are vacancies in the payments unit, which we are seeking to fill with the utmost urgency".
Ms Sweeney acknowledges that these efforts are being made but believes that what is being proposed "is not going to be a quick fix".
"I think (Minister O'Gorman) should have a task force come in, outsource it, get somebody to bring this up to date as quickly as possible," Ms Sweeney said.
Mr Brophy believes the current system is cumbersome and overly complicated, and needs to be urgently streamlined, simplified and sped up.
"The Government know how many people are in each house. It should be set up on a direct debit basis that we are paid in a timely fashion," he said.
"If somebody was in this position, in my position, in their normal everyday job and they weren't getting paid for three or four months, I don't think they'd stay in their position."
