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plenty of associations with anywhere from 100 to 1,000 delegates that can be accommodated easily in hotels around Ireland.”

“These groups don't actually need to come to Dublin, and many are so used to going to different cities for conferences that they would welcome the chance to visit a countryside location or a town outside Dublin. It's important to emphasise that conference business is not just about Dublin. It's about all the regions too.”

Healthy Kiddies Menus

Matthew Ryan has begun his term as President with a new healthy eating initiative for children with a range of family friendly menus to be introduced in participating hotels and guest houses across the country from May. “The aim is to provide meals based on fresh ingredients and designed to promote good eating habits while still appealing to junior tastes,” he states.

Given that Irish hotels and guesthouses expect to prepare over five million meals for children in 2008, this is an area where the industry can make a real difference. “A lot of hotels offer healthy eating options for adults but seem to have missed out on doing the same for children. There have been so many disturbing reports about childhood obesity lately, and it's important to catch the problem early on rather than later in life,” he says.

Mr Ryan also sees this important initiative as a way of giving something back to the community. “We aim to brief the hotel trade in April and to launch the scheme in May with a set of guidelines, cooking methods, suggested ingredients and basic menus for hotels to use.”

Career Opportunities

On the future of the hotel industry, Mr Ryan says that the arrival of many workers from abroad to work in the hotel industry has been very positive. “They are a fantastic workforce and they really want to work.

By now, many are in senior positions and are proving to be excellent leaders. They now represent an important asset to the tourism industry and hospitality sector in particular.”

“Tourism is Ireland’s biggest industry, and the recent influx of international hotel brands like Hilton, Westin and Sheraton means that staff have the opportunity to work and gain experience abroad as part of their career development. There are opportunities no other industry can offer so that people can develop positions within the sector that suit them rather than always having to meet industry requirements.”

He points out that there are career opportunities in every area depending on whether staff want a casual environment, working in a guesthouse or two star hotel, or the more formal surroundings of a five star establishment.

He says, “I would encourage people to gain valuable experience abroad, so that they can bring this wealth of experience back to Ireland. This is how future managers are made and it keeps Ireland up to date with world trends.”

Matthew Ryan is a native of Dublin and a graduate of the Shannon College of Hotel Management. He has worked in senior management positions for the Strand Palace Hotel, Covent Garden and the 4 star Omni Shoreham Hotel, Washington D.C.

Mr Ryan took up the position of Managing Director at the Grand Hotel Malahide in the early 1990s and successfully led a series of redevelopment programmes transforming the premises from a 48 bedroom hotel into one of Dublin’s finest hotels, offering a full four star service with extensive accommodation, leisure, conferencing and banquet facilities.

For the last seven years, Mr Ryan has been a member of the IHF National Council, serving twice as Vice President. He served on the IHF’s Classification Committee and oversaw this new system being devised and rolled out. For the past three years, he has been Chairman of the Association Conference Committee and the Fáilte Ireland Business Tourism Forum. He served as a Board member of ILAM for five years overseeing the white flag redevelopment initiative. He is a founding member of the Dublin Convention Bureau and EIQA (Excellence Ireland Quality Association), which sets standards for leisure centres in Ireland.

1st Andrew O’Neill (Clarion Hotel, Liffey Valley Dublin)

2nd Seamus O’Carroll (Springhill Court Hotel, Kilkenny)

1st Frank O’Hanlon (Diageo)

2nd Timmy Dwyer (Findlater Grants)

Andrew O'Neill receiving his prize from Annette Devine, IHF, and Peter Philpot, Findlater Grants (IHF Conference Golf Sponsors).

Mary Bergin receiving her prize from Annette Devine, IHF, and Peter Philpot, Findlater Grants.

1st Mary Bergin (Hospitality Solutions Consulting)

2nd Teresa Bourke (Wife of former President, Dick Bourke)

Charlie Sheil Cork

Paul Diver Donegal

Martin Mangan Dublin

Paul Gill Galway

Conor O’Connell Kerry

John Raftery Mayo

Gavin O’Shea Midlands

Rory Scott Mourne/Boyne/Lakes

Philip Lee Sligo/Leitrim/ N. Roscommon

Damien Lynch South East

Michael Vaughan Shannon

Pat Hevey Wicklow

Paul Keenan - Bridge House Hotel, Tullamore

Julieann Brennan - Jurys Inn, Cork

Annette Devine

Richard Bourke

Jim Murphy

Mary Fitzgerald

William Power

Martin Cassidy - Cassidy’s Hotel, Dublin 1

Paul McDaid - Faithlegg House Hotel, Co. Waterford

Terry McCoy - The Red Bank, Skerries

Bernadette Randles - Dromhall Hotel, Killarney

Conor O’Kane - Quality Hotel, Dublin 2

Michael Rosney - Killeen House Hotel, Killarney

Eoin O’Sullivan - St. Helen’s Hotel, Rosslare

John Gately - Montenotte Hotel, Cork

John Bourke - Glenlo Abbey Hotel, Galway

Stephen Hanna - Camden Court Hotel, Dublin 2

Stephen McNally - Quality Hotel Group

Friedrich Schaefer - Hilton Hotel Group

Charlie Sheil - Clarion Hotel, Cork

Breda Keane - Oriel House Hotel, Ballincollig

Paul Diver - Sand House Hotel, Rossnowlagh

Cormac Walsh - Carrigart Hotel, Co. Donegal

Martin Mangan - Conrad Hotel, Dublin 2

Bobby Fitzpatrick - Jurys Inn Parnell Street, Dublin 1

Paul Gill - Claregalway Hotel, Co. Galway

Wilson Bird - Stationhouse Hotel, Clifden

Conor O’Connell - Gleann Fia Country House, Killarney

Patrick Dillon - Quality Hotel, Killarney

John Raftery - Downhill Inn, Ballina

Brian Crowley - Knock House Hotel, Knock

Gavin O’Shea - The Courtyard Hotel, Leixlip

Lynda Roche - The Courtyard Hotel, Leixlip

Rory Scott - The d Hotel, Drogheda

Finbar Gethins - Crowne Plaza Hotel, Dundalk

Philip Lee - Clarion Hotel, Sligo

Joseph Dolan - Bush Hotel, Carrick-On-Shannon

Damien Lynch - Faythe Guesthouse, Wexford

Aiden Quirke - Round Tower Hotel, Ardmore

Michael Vaughan - Vaughan Lodge, Lahinch

Ivan Tuohy - Armada Hotel, Spanish Point

Putting pen to paper for my first President’s message wasn’t as simple as I had initially thought - mainly because as I take up office, I do so at a time of cautious optimism for our tourism industry and at a time when there is a vast range of issues top of mind impacting on our sector. So my difficulty stemmed from making a decision on what issue I should deal with in my first message. Indeed, all of them must be tackled. But what issue have you not already heard about so many times over the years?

So I have decided not to talk about any one issue – and, with respect, all are important. What I wanted to give you instead is an idea of the kind of approach I will take during my two year Presidency and with your support.

We have witnessed incredible growth in tourism over the last decade and there are significant targets ahead aiming to continue that growth path. However, as business people running our individual operations, we are all increasingly, I believe, witnessing a degree of consumer caution as the economy seems to be shifting down a gear. As a business man (like all hoteliers and guesthouse owners) who has made some critical investment and significant expansion decisions to grow my own properties, the times we are now encountering are giving some uncertainty.

Our tourism sector must continue to be robust if we are to continue to be one of the largest indigenous employers in the country and of course to safeguard the investment we have all made in our individual businesses.

With this in mind, what I can promise you during my term of office is that all approaches to tackle the various issues affecting our businesses and in our dealings with Government will be very much based on advocating a business and economic approach to make our voice heard and to seek real engagement and understanding of our position.

Our structure is a major asset for us in seeking to ensure the issues impacting on our businesses are widely understood. Past presidents have done great work in rebuilding the branches, and I would hope that we can enhance the Branch structure further to assist accomplish the common goals and objectives of the IHF and its members in this regard.

Whilst we have issues we want addressed and are always striving to improve our trading conditions, we also have a great deal to contribute to the communities in which we operate and to our customers. One of our goals will be to play our part in addressing the growing problem of childhood obesity in Ireland. Our Healthy Eating Menus initiative is a significant step in which we will provide enhanced nutritious food to our younger guests. The Federation is currently engaging with a specialist dietician to assist us in this regard, and the resources of menus etc from this initiative will be available all our members in the near future.

I am extremely honoured and privileged to have taken up this new office and can assure you that I will work to the best of my capacity in partnership with the members to move our Federation forward successfully. As someone who has grown up in the hotel sector, I have a passion for this industry. I will make it my business to dedicate my two years to ensuring that the IHF’s policies and approach will assist all our businesses flourish in the future.

Matthew Ryan 
President

The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) advice-line responds to queries from consumers, food businesses, hoteliers, caterers, health professionals and many others. In 2007, a total of 7,747 queries, an average of 638 calls per month, were logged by the FSAI. The majority of calls were from the food businesses (34%), closely followed by consumers (30%).

Consumers want to know that the food they are eating is safe and have become more aware of the risks to their health from unsafe food. Last year, the complaints received from consumers were about food and food businesses, either in relation to poor hygiene standards, food unfit for human consumption, or suspected food poisoning. Complaints about poor hygiene standards focused mainly on inappropriate handling of food by staff preparing and serving food, and cross contamination. Consumers also complained about misleading labeling and in general are becoming more aware of what should and should not appear on a label.

Calls from food businesses to the advice-line vary; the most popular being on food hygiene standards, food legislation, labelling and HACCP. These businesses are provided with details of the latest food hygiene regulations, the recommended codes of practice and standards, and any other advice they need so that the food they prepare and serve is safe to eat.

The advice-line is open weekdays from 9am to 5pm on 1890 336677. So, don’t let your premises be the source of a consumer complaint and please call if you have any queries or would like food safety advice.