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SEP 1 2022
WHEN I GROW UP...
€6m for Clare hotels housing Ukrainians by GORDON DEEGAN
M
l Lucie O’Connell makes her first steps on the ‘Field of Dreams’ at Cusack Park, having watched her uncle Gearoid ‘Gudgy’ O’Connell lining out for Ballyea over the weekend Photo by Ruth Griffin
ORE than €6m has been spent on accommodating Ukrainian refugees in County Clare alone in recent months. According to new details released by the Government, seven Co Clare accommodation providers signed Government contracts with a cumulative estimated value of €6.36m to accommodate Ukrainian refugees in the second quarter of this year. The largest contract was awarded to
Lisdoonvarna based firm, The Hydro Hotel Ltd which operates the Hydro Hotel (€1.53m), followed by The Auburn Lodge Hotel which entered a contract of €1.523m and Kilkee Town Ltd operating the Kilkee Bay Hotel (€1.52m). Clare has one of the highest populations of Ukrainians per capita in the country. A spokesman for the Dept cautioned: “The values associated with the contracts in the EU Notice are estimates of total values and should not be taken as the amounts that have or will be paid out.” Full story pg 4