Citywest: From Years of Losses to €17.5m Profit — And a Community Left Asking Who Really Benefits

The transformation of the Citywest Hotel which was once one of Ireland’s largest conference and leisure resorts into a full‑time International Protection Accommodation Service (IPAS) centre has triggered a wave of questions about money, transparency, and the long‑term impact on the local community and tourism economy.

While recent headlines have focused on the €17.5 million operating profit recorded in 2022, far less attention has been paid to the years before the State contract, years in which the hotel struggled financially, changed ownership structures, and faced mounting operational pressures.

Now, with the State having completed a €148.25 million purchase of the complex in 2025, residents and local representatives are asking whether the loss of a major hotel and conference venue once a cornerstone of the region’s tourism and business ecosystem is a price the community should be expected to absorb.

A Hotel That Wasn’t Always Profitable

Before the IPAS contract, Citywest was not the financial powerhouse it appears to be today. The hotel had faced years of instability, ownership restructuring, and operational challenges. While the newly lodged accounts show a dramatic turnaround in 2022, the context is clear:

The profit spike coincided directly with the State’s emergency accommodation deal, not with a revival of the hotel’s traditional business model.

The former owners, Tetrarch Capital, only lodged the overdue accounts recently and those accounts reveal that the €17.5m profit was tied to accommodating refugees, not hotel guests or conference trade.

This raises a fundamental question:

Was Citywest ever financially sustainable as a hotel in its final years — or did the State contract simply mask a failing business model?

A €148m Purchase — And a €1 Billion Saving?

When the State purchased the site in 2025 for €148.25 million, the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration argued that the deal would save the State €1 billion over 25 years compared to leasing the property.

That figure has been met with scepticism among local residents, who point out that:

• The hotel was already struggling before the IPAS deal

• The State is now permanently removing a major tourism asset from the region

• The long‑term cost of replacing lost tourism, events, and employment has not been calculated

The government’s argument focuses on State savings not community losses.

The Community Impact: A Hotel Lost, A Void Created

Citywest was not just a hotel. It was:

• One of Ireland’s largest conference centres

• A major employer in Saggart, Citywest, and Rathcoole

• A venue for concerts, trade shows, weddings, and corporate events

• A tourism anchor for the entire west Dublin region

Its closure as a public hotel has had immediate consequences:

1. Tourism Decline

Local businesses — restaurants, pubs, taxis, event suppliers — relied heavily on the hotel’s footfall.

With the hotel now closed to the public, that economic ecosystem has collapsed.

2. Loss of Conference Trade

Citywest was one of the few venues in Ireland capable of hosting large‑scale conferences.

Those events have now moved elsewhere — or out of Ireland entirely.

3. Community Amenities Gone

Residents have lost access to facilities that once served the area:

the gym, leisure centre, golf course (now approved for redevelopment as a cemetery), and event spaces.

4. Long‑Term Uncertainty

Local representatives have repeatedly raised concerns that the hotel will never return to public use, even after the emergency accommodation period ends.

Follow the Money: Who Benefited?

The financial picture raises uncomfortable questions:

• Tetrarch Capital, the former owners, recorded €17.5m profit in 2022 — the first time such profits were publicly revealed.

• The State paid €148.25m for the property in 2025.

• The State estimates €1 billion in savings over 25 years — but those savings are internal to the State, not the community.

• Local businesses, meanwhile, have lost a major economic engine.

The contrast is stark:

Private owners profited. The State acquired an asset. The community absorbed the loss.

Residents Want Answers & Transparency

Local representatives have repeatedly called for:

• A full breakdown of the financial history of Citywest prior to the IPAS contract

• A transparent accounting of how the €148m valuation was reached

• An impact assessment on tourism and local business

• A long‑term plan for the site once the accommodation crisis stabilises

So far, those answers have not been provided.

A Hotel That Once Defined a Region - Now Redefined by Crisis

Citywest’s transformation is a symbol of Ireland’s broader accommodation crisis — but it is also a symbol of something else:

How quickly a community can lose a major asset when national policy shifts.

The hotel that once hosted global conferences, weddings, concerts, and business events is now a closed, State‑run facility.

The profits are recorded.

The purchase is complete.

The community is left with the consequences.

And the questions aren’t going away.

By Aaron Joyce — Newswire, LTT Media — 1 January 2026

Sources:

BreakingNews.ie – Citywest centre makes profit of €17.5m in one year

RTÉ News – Citywest centre reports operating profits of €17.5m

Paul Gogarty – Citywest IPAS Centre community impact update

City West Hotel - Dublin, Ireland