Madam, – The Irish Hotels Federation has in recent days called on the Government to relieve some hoteliers of the tax penalties that would fall due should they exit the hospitality sector in order to reduce bed capacity. Meanwhile, many are concerned at the ability of our hospital sector to provide enough beds to deal with the potential pressures of swine flu. I have a suggestion.
Some of the excess bed capacity in the hotel industry can be cheaply and quickly recycled into step-down care for some of the elderly people in the acute hospitals. These are people who, while no longer requiring the acute bed services of the hospital system, lack the supports to immediately resume living independently.
Short-term leases could be quickly arranged to remove these excess hotel beds while providing us with non-acute beds in a relaxed communal environment. This scheme could be further expanded should swine flu run rampant across the land, much as the world’s passenger-liner fleet was once converted in war time to serve as hospital ships.
The cost of some bathroom conversions and providing support nursing staff would be considerably less than that of proposed co-located hospitals. Such expenditure would be recouped in the local economy. – Yours, etc,
DANIEL SULLIVAN,
Abbeyvale,
Corbally,
Limerick.
Madam, – It is good to see the French economy showing signs of recovery, with exports contributing strongly, aided by an export credit insurance scheme available as part of that Government’s economic stimulus package.
On another front, the European Commission has recently approved the Finnish government’s proposal to introduce a new export credit insurance scheme.
Our Government has been discussing the introduction of a State insurance scheme for exports since last January, not surprisingly, given our much greater dependence on exports than either France or Finland.
The latest leap forward on this front has been the appointment of consultants to produce a due diligence report on the credit insurance market in Ireland.
Meanwhile, insurance underwriters here have increased premiums, reduced credit limits to exporters, reduced acceptance rates for export business and withdrawn from some sectors altogether. Industry sources calculate that these changes have already caused 7,000 job losses with a further 12,000 at risk in the immediate future.
The Roman general Fabius Cunctator won many famous battles using delaying tactics. Could it be that our Government has decided on a Fabian approach to economic management, except where property developers are concerned? – Yours, etc,
COLUM MacDONNELL,
Gowrie Park,
Glenageary,
Co Dublin.