'Two big towns with no hotels for weddings or functions' - Lack of hotels in Offaly highlighted

A councillor highlighted the fact that there are no hotels and a general lack of accommodation in north-east Offaly, during a recent Offaly County Council meeting.

Cllr Eddie Fitzpatrick made his remarks during a long discussion about the Just Transition Fund during which angry councillors said the JTF has failed the county because it hasn't created the number of jobs needed.

One councillor pointed out that there were only five IDA visits to the county last year and, in general, the people of the county are “not feeling the love”.

Cllr Fitzpatrick agreed and said this lack of due care and attention can be felt in other areas of the county's life, such as the insufficient accommodation on offer in Edenderry, Portarlington and north-east Offaly in general. The Councillor underlined the shocking fact that there are no hotels in either Edenderry or Portarlington, despite them both being significant population centres.

Cllr Fergus McDonnell agreed, stating that Edenderry is now known as being a commuter town for the Greater Dublin Area, because of the government's inaction, rather than being a place which can stand on its own two feet. The inability to bring down the level of commuting is also a peculiarity during this era of Climate Change.

“What we have,” remarked Cllr Fitzpatrick, “is two big towns with no hotels for weddings, functions, tourism events; two towns with a shortage of beds for visitors.”

He said the East End Hotel in Portarlington closed down ten years ago and has been housing refugees for the last five years. In 2015 there was a plan to develop a new hotel in Edenderry but the plan was scrapped.