Casey says hotel for refugees ‘not fit for purpose’
PRESIDENTIAL candidate Peter Casey has voiced concerns about a hotel in Donegal which is set to house 100 refugees. The man who made his mark in the Presidential election by protesting about Travellers, says locals in Moville find it ‘incredible’ that 100 asylum seekers are to be accommodated in Donegal.
Mr Casey, who has a home in Donegal, told the Irish Daily Mail: ‘People around here are shocked. A hundred refugees are going to move into a closeddown hotel in Moville and they haven’t had any discussions with local people at all.
‘They are coming in a month’s time and locals find it incredible. It is almost like a 10% increase in the population overnight. There is no information about where these people are from, whether from Syria or whatever, or with what language they are arriving [with],’ Mr Casey said. ‘The hotel anyway has 48 rooms, they are going to put 100 people in, and it is obviously not fit for purpose.’
Mr Casey who stunned the world of Irish politics with his 23% result in the Presidential election, is now contemplating running in the European elections next May. A possible bid to become an Irish MEP was discussed at a strategy meeting with a cabal of advisers before Mr Casey flew to Atlanta at the weekend on a business trip.
His concerns about plans for the hotel were echoed by Fianna Fáil TD Charlie McConalogue who raised the intended opening of the refugee reception centre in Moville with Minister of State at the Department of Justice David Stanton, demanding consultation with the local community.
Moville is a town of 1,500 people in the Inishowen peninsula, about a half-hour drive north of Derry city. ‘I do not think it is the right way to go about things where such an important decision is made without involving the community that is being asked to welcome people in and to ensure they are well catered for,’ Mr McConalogue said.
‘In the context of Moville, the proposal is to open a 100-person reception centre in a town that has a population of 1,500. There are two aspects to this, namely, the capacity of the town to cater for 100 additional people and the capacity of a 50-bed hotel to cater, in an appropriate manner, for up to 100 people.’
This year the Government expects 3,500 applications for asylum, compared with 3,000 last year, and the issue of no-notice announcements of new centres was raised in the Dáil in recent days. A huge row has broken out over the revelation that the Department of Justice had leased the only hotel in Wicklow town, the Grand, as a direct provision centre for up to 100 people, including families.
Fianna Fáil TD Pat Casey asked how it squared with Government announcements regarding Wicklow town ‘in the context of enhancing the visitor experience’.
He said: ‘Only two weeks ago, the minister launched the tourism strategy for Wicklow and assigned a task force for the east coast greenway for Wicklow town. How does leasing the only hotel in Wicklow town for direct provision contribute to these strategies? People in Wicklow town have not been consulted on this.’
His party colleague, Eugene Murphy TD, said there was a similar position in the village of Rooskey, Co. Leitrim. ‘We know we have responsibilities to those people and that is not what I am questioning. There is a veil of secrecy around how this matter is being dealt with and it is not good enough.’
While direct provision should be ended, Mr Murphy said, ‘it is not the way to do this. I refer to the herding of these people into hotels, as is happening in Wicklow and Rooskey, as legalised people trafficking. That is what it is.’
Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan said such references were ‘outrageous’. His Minister for State, Mr Stanton, said: ‘Asylum seekers are offered places and nobody is herded anywhere. If anybody has a better way of doing this, let him or her tell me what it is because I have not heard it to date. Asylum seekers are guaranteed a bed, a shower and food, when they come to Ireland in these accommodation centres. We do not want people on the streets. That is the alternative, unless deputies can come up with something better.’
Mr Murphy said: ‘We have to tackle this issue. The way it is being dealt with by the Government is not good enough. I want answers and so does Deputy [Pat] Casey and others.’
Sinn Féin TD for Wicklow John Brady said: ‘I am deeply concerned that rather than trying to dismantle the shameful direct provision system, the Government is seeking to expand it and open a direct provision centre in Wicklow town.
‘It must be remembered that Fianna Fáil created the direct provision system. It was meant to be on a temporary basis for up to six months for people seeking international protection and asylum.’
‘Locals find it incredible’