An 18 month lockdown coupled with uncertainty around a date for reopening have resulted in a prolonged recruitment crisis in the hospitality sector.
That's the opinion of the Cork Chair of the Irish Hotels Federation and General Manager of the Kingsley Hotel Fergal Harte, who says the likes of hotels, restaurants and pubs are doing everything they can to get people back to work.
The popular Myrtleville restaurant Bunny Connellan's said they were forced to stay closed this week as a "direct result of the staffing crisis," while other businesses have said they are finding it difficult to recruit as many former employees have secured work in other sectors.
Speaking to RedFM News, Fergal Harte says the pandemic created the perfect storm for hospitality.
"A lot of factors came together because of the pandemic.
"Over the course of 18 months there have been various lockdowns and a lot of uncertainty within the industry, as people came to terms with the different guidelines and regulations that had been put in place.
"I think hotels worked particularly hard to maintain their teams and maintain contact with them, and they came up with lots of different innovations and ways of doing that, and they managed to keep small teams onsite as well."
