If the Minister of State needs an example as to why this amendment is crucially important, he should talk to any of the nearly 50,000 people who live in my hometown of Drogheda. Overnight, and at the stroke of a pen, the only hotel in the town was taken away without any consultation with the local authority or without any consultation or communication with the elected representatives in the area. As my colleague pointed out, we got an email the night before to say that the contract had been signed. There was no consideration given to the impact this would have on the hospitality trade and the tourism trade, or to the affect it would have on the arts, tourism and the surrounding areas. There was nothing. The soul of the town was completely destroyed overnight at the stroke of a pen. Two years on, we are still trying to recover from that. The contract is up for renewal over the next few weeks. There is massive pressure from all elected representatives, both locally and nationally, for it not to be renewed. The reason that has been asked of the Government and the reason why a community impact assessment is needed is because what has happened has had a devastating impact. The Chamber of Commerce vocally opposed the closure of the hotel. Those involved with the business improvement scheme, who were not consulted or engaged with, came out against it at the time. To this day, it remains their position that what happened decimated the heart and soul of the largest town in the country and left us with no functioning hotel. It is completely unheard of that decisions like this can be made without any consultation or consideration for the effect it could have on the community. I commend my colleague. This is the most crucial amendment to be tabled in respect of the Bill. It is something the Government really needs to consider and support. Otherwise, it is going to continue to rip the heart and soul out of our communities and the hospitality, tourism and other vibrant trading and social scenes in our towns and villages around the country.

Sentiment score: 0.03