As many as nine out of ten hospitality businesses are having big problems recruiting much needed staff, according to research by Fáilte Ireland which is due to be published this week.
Across the sector it is feared the lack of chefs, bar staff and even managers will reduce the range of services available to tourists this summer.
Businesses said they are relying on college and transition year students to keep their doors open. "At the moment it's extremely hard to get any staff, full-time or part time," Michelle Holmes, manager at Synergy Cafe in Carrick-on-Shannon told RTÉ's This Week. "We are looking for everyone from kitchen porters up to chefs.
We are advertising all of the time but nobody is applying," she said. Chef Sham Hanifa reopened The Cottage restaurant in Jamestown, Co Leitrim this weekend, but only has the staff to cover two nights a week.