There is another twist in the story, it seems, regarding the would-be development of two former tourist hotels in Gaoth Dobhair.
As Gript has reported previously, Vesada Private, with the support of local Sinn Féin TD Pearse Doherty, announced in September 2020 that they had bought Óstan Gaoth Dobhair and Óstan Radharc na Mara with a view to opening both as major tourist destinations.
There was talk of providing 151 beds and that the project would lead to the creation of 80 jobs in the local community. As we have also pointed out, this has not transpired as promised. Óstan Radharc na Mara – The Seaview – is the only hotel that is open and that is full of Ukrainian refugees.
Óstan Gaoth Dobhair remains a potential construction site, and new plans to begin work on that were only announced on Wednesday this week – just days after Gript – in response to further approaches from people in An Bun Beag – pointed out how things stand at the moment.
The plans are for the construction of a new building which will have 69 beds. There will also be separate holiday apartments on the grounds as well as a restaurant and other facilities in and around the hotel itself.
Following the announcement of the new planning application, Vesada Private director Ciarán Ó Muireagáin appeared on Raidió na Gaeltachta’s Barrscéalta to explain the latest development to presenter Michelle Nic Grianna.
The latest in Ó Muireagáin’s interview amounted to little more than another PR exercise on the part of the company. Despite the long delays and the fact that the Seaview continues to be used to house refugees, Ó Muireagáin was not asked to explain why the commitments he had made on behalf of Vesada Private in other interviews have not come to pass.
The time scale for the construction and opening of Óstan Gaoth Dobhair, assuming that the application does not encounter any of the delays that occurred with the Seaview, suggest that it will be a long time before the long-promised tourists are gazing out on the sea.
Covid was cited as the main reason for the delay. Yet, Covid and the associated lockdowns were well over when, in September 2022, Ó Muireagáin told another Raidió na Gaeltachta interviewer that he expected that there would be 151 tourist beds available in both locations before the end of 2024.
Given the stage at which the Óstan Gaoth Dobhair project is at, and the fact that there is another contract in place to house Ukrainian refugees, that is unlikely to happen.
Ó Muireagáin said that work would begin six to nine months after the planning process is completed, and that the hotel will be open to the public between a year and two years after construction work commences. It would be pretty safe then to assume that 2026 is most likely the earliest that the hotel will return to the tourist market.
When asked whether a reconstructed Óstan Gaoth Dobhair would be providing accommodation for tourists or for refugees, Ó Muireagáin replied that it would be for “turasóirí amháin.”
Local people might be forgiven for taking that with a pinch of salt given that Ó Muireagáin has previously said that the Seaview was only then housing refugees because the company had a six month contract. In September 2022, he said that while that contract was in place they were still pressing ahead with plans to re-open to the public.
Michelle did ask him – although she did not refer to any of his previous statements – what the long term plans for the Seaview were. Ó Muireagáin replied that “Tá conradh againn leis an Rialtas anois” but that they were planning to open to the public in the long term. So they have renewed the contract several times since September 2022.
That’s the long term. As it stands, there is no incentive for Vesada Private – with its several former tourist hotels now given over to refugee accommodation – to turn down or not to seek new contracts.
Up to the end of September last year Vesada Private had received more than €11,500,000 in payments from the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (DCEDIY) to provide accommodation to Ukrainians under Temporary Protection.
We merely cite Vesada as one example, but it is a useful insight into what is happening around the state.
The connections between these companies – now in receipt of millions for asylum accommodation – and overseas investment funds requires ongoing investigation. It would appear that Gript is among the very few who are examining any of this.