The owner of a cafe that will be forced to close without compensation during Ireland’s EU Presidency has said it is a "disgrace" the way his staff are being treated. 

The Silk Road Cafe is located in the Chester Beatty library at Dublin Castle and is due to celebrate 25 years in business this July. 

However, owner Abraham Phelan has recently been informed that it will have to close for security reasons during Ireland’s EU Presidency this year. 

The castle is due to host a variety of conferences, events and receptions during Ireland’s six month EU presidency. 

On The Claire Byrne Show, Mr Phelan said compensation has not been offered either to him or his staff for the loss of their livelihood.  

“Actually, the problem is that we haven't heard much,” he said. 

“We have been inquiring about it since December last year because we heard the rumor about Dublin Castle going to be closed for the EU presidency.” 

Currently, the cafe has 18 members of staff - some of whom have worked with him for decades - and typically 30 people are employed during the busy summer months. 

However, this month all staff will have to go and look for new employment. 

“I'll be honest with you, my concern and my worry was about my staff,” Mr Phelan said. 

“I had a meeting with my staff and I said to them, ‘This is the story, I haven't a clue what's going on.’” 

At present, Mr Phelan said he plans “keep going until the 15th of June like nothing going on” and then he will shut his doors for good. 

At the age of 72, he has decided the time is right to retire. 

“I'll be honest with you, a decision has been made actually by the management of the Silk Road that we are not going back, we're done,” he said. 

“I just want compensation for my staff, I want my staff to be look after. 

“Because I'll be honest with you, if you sit down with my staff and you see the state of them, it's actually a disgrace the way we've been treated.” 

Despite this, he still hopes his staff will be compensated at some point and an official will be “held responsible” for the predicament the cafe finds itself in.

Main image: A split of Abraham Phelan and the cafe.