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Bord Pleanála has approved the council’s plans for an ambitious programme of works to existing facilities in Mallow’s main park, including the construction of angling stands on the banks of the River Blackwater as well as a new skate plaza and pump track for bikers.

Other proposed measures include the construction of new entrances and footpaths, the widening of existing footpaths and footbridge, and a reconfiguration of the current playing pitches and training area.

Revenue at the Irish arm of  McDonald’s fell by €20.7 million last year due to the impact of Covid-19.

New accounts for McDonald’s Restaurants of Ireland Ltd show pretax profit fell by 70 per cent in 2020 to €6 million with revenue decreasing by 30 per cent from €69 million to €48.2 million.

During the period, the McDonald’s operation here was made up of 93 franchised stores and two owner-operated outlets, representing no change from 2019.

The company’s operating profit declined by 69 per cent to €6.35 million and a non-cash property impairment of €347,000 contributed to profits reducing further.

The CSO reported 925,500 overseas passenger arrivals and 895,100 overseas passenger departures in October.

This compares with 810,100 arrivals and 792,000 departures in September and marked increases of 14.2% and 13% respectively.

It also compares to huge increases of 475% and 448% on the 160,900 arrivals and 163,300 departures in October of last year.

But overseas travel in October is still nearly half that of pre-pandemic October 2019, when there were 1,727,100 arrivals and 1,739,900 departures from the country.

Hotels and guesthouses owners are calling on the Government to provide urgent additional supports for the sector in response to a dramatic collapse in event bookings in the lead up to Christmas. 

Hoteliers are reporting over €90m in lost revenues with many companies and organisations throughout the country cancelling events and social gatherings, according to the latest industry research by the Irish Hotels Federation*.

In normal times, December trading sustains the first few months of the following year for many hotels and guesthouses. However, as a result of the recent event cancellations, the sector and broader tourism are at a critical juncture requiring continued Government supports at current levels.

 Hotel occupancy levels remain significantly down on expectations, with hoteliers reporting occupancies of just 35% for December and 14% across January and February. This poses an enormous challenge for hotels and guesthouses as they face into an uncertain new year and an exceptionally difficult trading environment up until June 2022. At the same time, hotels are now facing a cliff-edge scenario with the Government planning to cut vital EWSS employment supports from 1st December and discontinue the local authority rates waiver from 1st January 2022.

IHF Chief Executive Tim Fenn is calling for a firm commitment from Government to continue EWSS supports at their current levels at least up until April 2022 and for the current local authority rates waiver to be retained until June 2022.