The Taoiseach is meeting shortly with the business community in Drogheda to discuss the economic impact of the loss of the D Hotel and €21 million to the local economy. The people of Drogheda remain extremely angry at this decision. The Government needs to intervene and have a package for the tourists and businesses in our town. We need a moratorium on tourist accommodation being provided in the future in Drogheda for applicants under the IPAS, or International Protection Accommodation Services, and the beneficiaries of temporary protection, BOTP, scheme. We also need a ban on the use of ground-floor retail for this purpose. We are losing a major pub, which cost over €2 million to refurbish recently and is applying for IPAS accreditation. Businesspeople in Drogheda are up in arms and very concerned about this.

The Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, signed an agreement with the D Hotel for 500 beds for two years. Last week, the fire certificate for the building issued at last and it was for 465 beds. This means the greedy developers who own the hotel will have an additional €2 million in their back pocket as a result of beds that the Minister signed up for but which can never be filled because they can never be put into the hotel. The Minister's policy is a shambles in our town.

We are way over time.

He is throwing people out of tents all over the city of Dublin at present.

We are way over time.

He needs to re-examine this policy and bring ordinary people with him, rather than drive people into the arms of the extreme right which is getting oxygen from his actions.

Deputy O'Dowd has eaten into the time for the answer.

The Merchant pub, which I believe the Deputy is referring to, was offered for international protection accommodation some time ago. The offer was rejected by my Department. I gather the Deputy is highlighting that there is potential that the pub may be re-offered. It has not been as yet and there is no offer currently with my Department. I cannot speak to what the owners will do in the future. All I can speak to is that the offer was rejected for significant reasons the previous time it was made. That is the position. There is no current live offer for that public house within-----

Is there an application?

There is no application within my Department for that pub right now.

It is there today.

The previous application we dealt with was rejected for significant reasons. As the Deputy will be aware, none of us wants to be in a situation where we are taking hotel accommodation. That is why we published a comprehensive accommodation strategy, one that moves away from reliance on private providers and towards a core of State-provided accommodation.