Northern Irish hotelier and managing director of the Hastings chain of hotels, Howard Hastings, was in Dublin this week to announce plans for a £53 million investment in a new hotel in Belfast called the Grand Central, which will be the city's largest once completed. He spoke to Ciaran Hancock about his new hotel and about tourism in Belfast, which he says is "sound" and has not yet been affected on the ground by the lack of an administration at Stormont. They also discussed Brexit and what impact that may have on the Northern Ireland hotel sector, which currently has 20% VAT on room rates, compared to 9% in the Republic.Later in the podcast, Laura Slattery has the latest on RTÉ's €107.5 million euro land sale and what that money may be used for.

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