The chief executive of the Restaurants Association of Ireland, Adrian Cummins, has confirmed he will contest the upcoming Seanad elections.
Mr Cummins, who is a well-known lobbyist for the hospitality sector, has declared his candidacy for the Seanad industrial and commercial panel.
Mr Cummins was born and raised in Portumna in Co Galway, where his parents Lena and Bertie ran a pub, holiday homes and an equestrian centre. He has received nominations from representative bodies including the Restaurants Association of Ireland, the Irish Tourism Industry Confederation and the Irish Hospitality Institute.
Mr Cummins has been the chief executive of the Restaurants Association of Ireland for 15 years.
“Tourism and hospitality SMEs alone employ over 270,000 people and their voices, along with SMEs in other sectors, need to be better heard in the Seanad,” he said.
“Having recently organised a rally outside Leinster House attended by over 1,800 people who own and work in small, medium and micro businesses, I know the many serious challenges facing our SME community in their daily battle to keep their businesses open and employ
