Supermacs are accommodating staff “right across the country” to help them through the housing crisis, according to owner Pat McDonagh.

On The Hard Shoulder today he said it was a “win-win” idea as it helps him keep staff who in turn get a “cheaper rate” of accommodation than they would elsewhere.

It comes as Ryanair has also responded to the housing crisis by buying new-build homes in North Dublin to accommodate its staff.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar told Newstalk this evening “it wasn’t necessarily a bad thing” that companies were renting rooms to staff.

Mr McDonagh said he started doing it in recent years to help manage “the rising cost of living and cost of accommodation”.

“Costs have increased tremendously over the last number of years, particularly in city areas,” he said.

“A lot of staff would have difficulty in finding accommodation and staff coming from abroad would have even more difficulty.

“Over the last number of years, we would have converted the upstairs areas of shops and restaurants around the country into rented houses - and bought houses in some cases - to accommodate staff.”

Major cities

Mr McDonagh said he accommodates staff in major cities like Galway, Limerick, Dublin and Cork – but also smaller towns like Clonmel and Tuam.

“This is part of the times and is not going to change very easily or quickly so I can see this situation staying with us for the next four to five years,” he said.

“This is nothing new, it has happened before in Ireland in the hospitality industry if you go back 13 or 14 years ago when a lot of hotels and restaurants used to do it.

“It’s done in order to retain and acquire staff – obviously it would give them better value than what they might be getting out there themselves.”

'Ideal world'

Mr McDonagh said “in an ideal world” he would much rather not have to provide accommodation for staff.

“The hospitality business is going through a rough period at the moment in relation to costs," he said.

“There has been the reintroduction of VAT, an increase in minimum wages, the cost of electricity, rates and insurance – all these costs have increased so that our bottom line has been pretty much eroded.

“A lot of businesses are under a lot of pressure at this time and it would be much more beneficial to be able to focus on how to address these costs.”

Gains made

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said the current Government has made gains in housing.

“We built more than 32,000 homes in Ireland last year which is almost double the number than when I first became Taoiseach in 2017, so we are getting there,” he said.

“We are now seeing 500 first-time buyers drawing down their first mortgage every week now which we haven’t seen since I don’t know when – probably when I was in my late 20s when I last saw that.”

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar at the Housing for All Quarterly update where he confirmed the RTÉ bailout this afternoon, 14-11-2023. Image: Leah Farrell/RollingNews

The Taoiseach said it was normal to see companies accommodating staff.

“It’s often done for people moving from abroad who need a few months to settle and that’s certainly what Ryanair is doing,” he said.

“It’s not necessarily a bad thing that employers would do that for staff, at least in the first couple months when they are getting settled and looking for accommodation themselves.”

The Taoiseach said he appreciates housing is not progressing as quickly as he would like in Ireland.

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Main image: Pat McDonagh. Image: RollingNews.ie