"Many of these tax incentivised hotels were never viable entities yet banks are artificially keeping them in business just long enough to get their huge loans transferred to NAMA, when they will become the taxpayers' problem," she said.

"The irony is that, because these hotels already owe the banks so much, they are kept afloat, while traditional owner-operated hotels, which could have a future, can't get working capital. This facilitates predatory pricing by the non-viable banks and it is turning the normal

operation of the market on its head. The Minister is sitting on his hands while the industry is haemorrhaging jobs and the greater worry is that NAMA will continue this policy of forbearance for non-compliant borrowers."

 

"I have written to the Competition Authority to investigate what distortion of competition issues this practice raises. I'm all for competition driving prices down but it seems to me the banks are engaging in non-commercial practices and the hotels they are supporting may be engaging in reckless trading and predatory pricing. Ultimately the European Commission may take a view on this if NAMA also decides to favour developer owned hotels over performing ones. But if the Minister waits for that to happen we may have very little left of our tourism infrastructure."