Gateway Economics and Food Powerhouses

Irish restaurants and hotels are economic powerhouses.
They provide jobs, buy foods and services, and return VAT and tax to the Government.
And they get damn all thanks from that Government for all their hard work.
This Megabites looks at destinations which are economic powerhouses, and while some are in obvious places – Killarney, Galway – others are in areas where their economic power is utterly vital to the local economy – Longford, say, or Waterford. Years ago, the Government talked about creating Gateways in disadvantaged areas to create jobs. The Government ultimately did nothing about the idea, but our restaurateurs have stepped up to develop their local areas.
And, whilst we are giving the Government a lashing, our new Op-Food column bemoans the lack of any political involvement in Galway's ground-breaking Food on the Edge. The greatest food thinkers on the planet travelled from all over the world to turn up in Galway city, but no one from the Government could be bothered to get in their State cars and show their face.