Vol. 437 No. 1
113 Mr. O'Malley asked the Minister for Transport, Energy and Communications the reasons for the closure of the Great Southern Hotel at Shannon; and the plans, if any, he has for the future of the Great Southern group of hotels which are State-owned.
The decision to close the loss-making Great Southern Hotel in Shannon, was first announced last April following the third unofficial walk-out by some staff.
In August, a plan prepared by management for the future viable operation of the hotel was presented to staff and union. This was the subject of a series of meetings in September and October between management and the staff-union committee, two of which were conducted under the auspices of the Labour Relations Commission. In early November, the package which had been worked out in these meetings was rejected by a majority of staff in a secret ballot and the hotel then closed.
Since the closure, contact between the management and union has been maintained. The company has recently invited the union to indicate what changes might be considered in the plan to secure staff agreement.
Following the acquisition of the Great Southern Hotels by Aer Rianta in November, 1990, a major refurbishment programme costing £14 million has been undertaken. There are no plans for the expansion of the hotels currently before me.
