Minister slammed over asylum hotel
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There has been no consultation really with the local politicians
PIO SMITH
YESTERDAY
A COUNCIL last night demanded an emergency meeting with the Integration Minister over the Government’s decision to use a town’s largest hotel for asylum seekers.
Drogheda Borough Council issued a statement following special behindclosed-doors talks after a furious public backlash to the move.
The Council said: “The Decision of the Minister for Integration to effectively remove our main hotel facility, the D Hotel, from our town to the great detriment of our efforts to develop tourism in the county has been carried out without any consultation.
“We are requesting the Minister to meet with the
Elected Members to review the impact of the decision for the removal of this key component of our local economy.
“We believe from informed research that the loss to our general town centre economy will be €5.4million per year without considering the further ramifications of losses in the greater Drogheda area.”
The statement was signed by nine councillors including Deputy Mayor Kevin Callan.
There were no protests outside while the meeting took place and a Garda car patrolled the area every half an hour. On Monday, the announcement was made that the 113-bedroom hotel, overlooking the River Boyne, is to accommodate 500 families on March 5, including mothers and children for the next two years.
The hotel’s owners, Fairkeep Ltd, who purchased it in October 2023, confirmed they have entered into an agreement with the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth for the next two years.
The bar and function rooms will continue to stay open for the public.
The intention of the owners is to reinvest the funds paid to them from this contract into renovating the hotel.
However, Drogheda Labour Party Councillor Pio Smith said there should have been “meaningful” consultation with the community before a decision was made to house the international protection applicants in the hotel.
Speaking on RTE’S Morning Ireland, he said the main stakeholders were ignored by the Government in making this decision and the community was notified yesterday about the move, which was met with “disbelief in the town” as it followed closely on the closure of Marks and Spencer shop in the Laurence Shopping Centre.
He added: “People then were fearful of the fact that there was going to be 56%
of our tourist accommodation taken out of town in one fell swoop. So, there’s a lot of concern then in regards to what the impact that was going to have on the business community and jobs in the area.
“People are not adverse to international protection applicants coming into the town.
“The reality is that there has been no consultation really with the local authority or local politicians and the local businesses. And it just seems like it’s a fait accompli.”
Cllr Stephen Mckee said the decision “will likely have a huge negative impact on tourism and the local economy, affecting not just the town centre of Drogheda but the wider area also”, and is calling for it to be reversed.
He added: “The decision to remove tourist accommodation from the D Hotel is a huge blow to the town.”
A protest march will now be held tomorrow at 2pm from Scotch Hall shopping centre to the D Hotel, a couple of hundreds yards away.