Young people shun Irish hotel industry
Irish hoteliers are targeting foreigners, women working at home and the long-term unemployed to cope with a shortfall of 9,000 staff.
Young Irish people are shunning the industry, and two out of five restaurants and more than half of Ireland's hotels now employ foreigners, says tourism training authority CERT.
Growth forecasts for the next five years suggest 105,000 more workers will be needed on top of replacements for 25% of staff leaving the Irish hotel industry.
In 1996, Irish hotels employed 38,915 people; by 1999, the number had risen to 53,906. The number of restaurant staff rose from 26,000 to 40,000 in the same period.
CERT chairman Eamonn McKeon said poor pay and long hours were a perception rather a reality, and many employers were offering £5 an hour.
But Eamon Doyle, owner of the Park House hotel in Galway, said: "It's all about pay."