NAMA Acquires 139 Hotels - 52 of Them Overseas

NAMA has acquired loans secured by 139 hotels in total of which 87 are located in Ireland, 37 in the UK, 5 each in Germany and France, two in the Czech Republic, and one each in Belgium, Malta and Spain.

The information has been confirmed by Finance Minister Brian Lenihan. In reaction Fine Gael MEP Jim Higgins states "This is surely a further indictment of the unregulated building boom fuelled by the present government, who gave the impression that we were benefiting from a Celtic Tiger."

Minister Lenihan's reply confirms the Multi-billion euro squandramania that has led us into the current recession is acknowledged when he states 'NAMA has acknowledged that there are hotels which have been built with the wrong grading and in the wrong location. Ultimately the long term future of these hotels may not be as hotels, and ultimately alternative uses may have to be found for them"

In a further reaction MEP Higgins said "I fully agree with the Irish Hotels Federation, that there is an urgent need to scale down capacity in the hotel and guesthouse sector, and I am calling on the Minister for Tourism to sit down with the hospitality sector and devise a strategic plan in order to enable tourism play a vital role in terms of generating growth in our economy."

ENDS

Jim Higgins Fine Gael MEP is Ireland's only Member on the European Parliament's Tourism Committee